Naruto: Game Chronicles
by Kore wa watashi
Summary: Waking up one day to find that he has been granted the chance to live life as a unique entity known as the Gamer. What more could Uzumaki Naruto ask for? Read on to find out the powers bestowed upon him by the Game. Will his life remain real, or is it just a game? T for safety. Multiverse.
1. New Game

**Congratulations! You have been chosen as a gamer!**

He blinked once. He blinked twice. He blinked thrice.

And when he could finally let the words out from his mouth, it didn't come properly.

"What in the hell…?"

 **You are given the opportunity to live your life as a gamer! In simpler words, your life will now be similar to that of a video game character from a role playing game! You will be able to level up, learn skills and access special features that only gamers could!**

He blinked for the fourth time. "So you're telling me that my life will be like a video game?"

 **Yes!**

The blue semitransparent notice text box was starting to annoy him a little. His hand reached to scratch the itching spot on the back of his head, ruffling and rubbing his blonde hair. "Man I must be sleepy…" his eyes glanced at the small clock hanged on the wall of his small apartment. He cursed when he saw the time. "Fuck… I'm gonna be late!"

 **Quest Alert**

 **Right on time: arrive on time to attend the academy**

 **Iruka-sensei is strict when it comes to attendance, and you're just going to be late? Think about the punishment!**

 **Completion reward: 400XP**

 **Increased reputation with academy teachers, academy students and the Sandaime.**

 **Failure: 200XP**

 **Decreased reputation with academy teachers, academy students and the Sandaime**

 **Accept?**

 **Yes/No**

 **Warning: Choosing No will automatically fails the quest!**

Instead of thinking, he jumped out of bed. "Dammit I'm late!" he began to scramble to his feet, gathering his jacket and pants from the dresser.

 **Quest accepted.**

Since he didn't have time to get breakfast, he'd have to make a bread run for it. He quickly loved the door to his room before rushing down the floor through the stairs, he'd use the windows but there's construction happening outside so he didn't want to disturb the workers. As he ran the streets of Konoha in a blur of orange, he noticed that people around him have level markers above their heads. Most people he saw were only within the 1-2 range, probably because they were civilians and not ninjas. He didn't have time to pay attention to people as he was running to avoid getting detention and failure of the 'quest' he's running.

His bread, which was a toast, was thankfully sturdy enough to not break due to his running. "Dammit! I'm gonna be late, late, late, late!" he shouted through muffled mouth while running. If only he could know how much time he had left.

 **Time left: 00:05:21**

He was surprised to see the same blue text box appearing in front of him, but he was more surprised at the time shown. He got about five more minutes before he's literally dead. He was in a pinch since the academy was still three or four blocks away and with the speed he's going now, he's not exactly confident if he would make it. With his determination flaring, the blonde youth sped up faster, his feet were hurting but it sure as hell's better than what Iruka-sensei had in store for him after school.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on!" He mentally screamed to himself.

 **A skill has been created through a specific act.**

"Oh joy!"

 **Due to your will to run faster, which increases your speed and requires stamina, Rush has been created.**

"Now if I could only tell what the hell does that means!"

 **Rush (Passive) is at lv.1. Rush allows you to increase your speed with the cost of lest stamina, this is an Passive skill and will only activate as you are running.**

"Even though that sounds cool and all, I'll still be late!" He practically screamed, nearly causing his bread to fall. "ORRRAAAAA!" He ran even faster, causing dust trails to form behind him.

 **Rush's level has increased to lv.2.**

"SCREW YOU!"

 **As you train and progress at a particular field, skills that are related to that field will also increase in level! Now that Rush is at lv.2, you can sprint for longer times without feeling tired!**

"…Hey, that's actually good." He realized, but then his face fell. "But that still doesn't mean I won't be late!"

He was almost at the fourth block, and it was a major relief to his legs that the academy was the first building on the block. But the thought of running up the stairs to the second floor and having to go through several hallways slowly brought the pain back to his legs. He ran, finally entering school grounds and almost at the front door of the building. Once he reached the door, he bashed his way inside, completely ignoring the fact that he had just break the lock on the door and will probably have to replace that with his allowance which he had been saving to buy more ramen for his stock at home.

 **Time notice: 00:00:52**

'FUUUCK!' he managed to restrain his profanity from going out his mouth, since he really did not want people to mistake him for a potty mouth. He rushed up the stairs and on to the second floor, the only thing that kept him from falling was the fact that he had sandals on. Any seconds more and he'd be late! His class was the last room in the second floor's third hallway, get that? Third hallway, this place's so damn big! The classes who were in session probably heard the pitter patters of his footsteps, but he did not have time to worry about those bastards inside. All he needed to do was to get to class in time.

 **00:00:05**

He saw his class's door, he could make it! He put more will into his running, thus making him run faster.

 **00:00:04**

He reached his hand out for the sliding door, desperation kicking in hard.

 **00:00:03**

His sweat bounced off his skin as he made the final leap.

 **00:00:02**

He slid the door open!

 **00:00:01**

He landed face first on the class's floor.

 **00:00:00**

He made it.

 **Quest Alert**

 **You managed to arrive, barely.**

 **Completion reward:** **400XP**

 **Increased reputation with academy teachers, academy students and the Sandaime.**

"Naruto, you barely made it." Iruka could not repress the urge to sigh at his 'favorite' student's tardy tendencies. While listening to the boy's excuse was entertaining, he could simply not allow that to happen all the time when he'd already have someone who had that kind of character going on.

On another part of town, a certain scarecrow sneezed.

Naruto would have heard what Iruka was saying when he wasn't panting and huffing as he tried to regain his breathing on the cold floor. Slowly, he raised his hand and a finger. "Haa… haa… huff… I… made it…" and his hand dropped.

Iruka sighed, this time louder than before. "Just get to your seat."

Slowly but steadily, the blonde made his way to his seat. He sat on the furthest back of all the seats available. Now there's a good reason for that. Since he enrolled in the academy a year earlier than the required age, he's naturally seated at the seat closest to the window, thus placing him at the very back and corner most place. As he sat in place, he could not help but stare at the level markers there were up on everyone's head, hell even that bastard Sasuke had it too.

'Wait, what level am I?' he asked to himself.

 **Uzumaki Naruto (Deadlast) lv.7**

'Seven huh…' looking around, he noticed something.

 **Uchiha Sasuke lv.10**

 **Aburame Shino lv.8**

 **Haruno Sakura lv.6**

 **Hyuuga Hinata lv.9**

 **Akimichi Chouji lv.7**

 **Nara Shikamaru lv.10**

 **Yamanaka Ino lv.8**

 **Inuzuka Kiba lv.9**

"WHAT?!" he screamed out without realizing that he'd done it outside of his head. Everyone was staring at him, even Iruka stopped his lecture to stare at the blonde orange wearing youth.

"Naruto, is there anything wrong with my subject?" Naruto gulped from where he's sitting. He could see the vein threatening to pop of the instructor's forehead.

"N-No, sensei…"

"Good. Now listen."

Naruto sighed, he's lucky.

 **You've managed to avoid getting scold; your LUK is increased by 1.**

'Huh?' he wondered. 'Wait, since it's a video game I'm living, I have a data, right?' he concluded.

 **Name:** Uzumaki Naruto

 **Title:** Deadlast {-5% experience points gain}

 **Class:** Gamer

 **Level:** lv.7

 **Affiliation:** Konohagakure

 **HP:** 1000/1000

 **CP:** 1000/1000

 **VIT:** 25 (10)

 **STR:** 12

 **DEX:** 23 (10)

 **WIS:** 9

 **LUK:** ?

 **INT:** 6

 **Status: Prank King** {-8% reputation gains, +8% experience to Sneaking, Trap Making skills}, **?** {+10 VIT, +10 DEX, 10% chance of ?}, **?** {+50 CP  & HP every level up}

 **Bio data:** Uzumaki Naruto is an orphan and the deadlast of the ninja academy after failing the graduation for two times in a row. He is clueless as to his own origins…

 **Money:** 7500Ryo

 **Next level up:** 400/1000

First of all, accepting all of this took a longer time than expected. First, just what are INT, DEX, STR and all of those things? Suddenly, a screen popped up.

 **STR:** Strength mainly involves how much damage you will deal to your enemies. It involves all unarmed, armed, techniques that you use towards your enemies. The greater your strength, the more damage you will deal to them.

 **DEX:** Dexterity determines how lithe and agile you are when dodging enemy attacks. When your DEX is balanced with your STR, you will have better reflex.

 **VIT:** Vitality affects your total HP and overall endurance. The higher your VIT, the lower the chances of you getting sick, tired and fatigued. VIT may also affects how fast you can regenerate your health

 **WIS:** Wisdom utilizes your ability to think clearly and wisely. The more careful you are when thinking, the higher the chance of your WIS to go up.

 **LUK:** Luck determines your luckiness in battle and outside of battle. The luckier you are, the easier your life will be. Be warned that LUK is dynamic and could not be measure by situation alone, it is up to you to decide whether you are lucky or not.

 **INT:** Intelligence will affect your CP. It may not always increase your CP capacity, but it makes controlling chakra easier. The higher your INT, the better you are at controlling chakra and the lower the chances of you suffering from chakra exhaustion. INT will also affects your memorization and your ability to learn things.

 **Title:** Throughout the game, you will gain title and other interesting moniker. The only way to gain a title is to do certain actions, quests and completing favors.

 **Status:** Throughout the game, you will see these statuses appear in your HUD. Some statuses may be temporary (stun, paralysis, blindness etc.) and some may be permanent (Byakugan, Chakra Chains etc.)

Well, now that he knew all of this, things were beginning to get clearer. His INT was low because he never done any reading or real studying before in his life. His WIS was low because thinking wasn't his main forte. But… he couldn't help but feel a little curious at the bio data. It said that even he, himself, didn't know of his true origins. And now that he thought about it, it's true. Just, who was he?

 **Quest Alert!**

 **Who am I: The mystery of your own origins is starting to intrigue you. Find out about yourself.**

 **Important quest line: Long term**

 **Note: In game, you may encounter long term quests and short term quests. As their name implies, each type of quest takes either longer or shorter time to complete. Some may not even be accomplishable until you have truly realized that you have completed said quest.**

 **Completion reward: 9000XP**

 **Increased reputation with the Sandaime, ?, ?, ?**

 **Failure: 4500XP**

 **?,?,?**

Great, now something even more confusing popped up. But 9000 experience points? That's a lot… and there are a lot of question marks, just what do they meant, he wondered… oh well, he'll think about it later. He's even more curious of his environment, or the people around him to be exact. He saw that everyone around him, at least the students, were either three or two levels ahead in front of him! That bastard Sasuke was level ten, how was that fair?

 **Umino Iruka – Academy Instructor – lv.24**

 **A skill has been created through a specific act.**

He blinked. What was it?

 **You have been observing the people around you well. Now, you get to observe them a little bit deeper. Observe has been created.**

He wasted no time in selecting the skill to get a better idea of what it was. The name flashed white, before showing him a full detailed text of what the skill was.

 **Observe (Active) is at lv.1. Observe allows you to see the data of the people around you, be it friends of foe. Level this particular skill more to** **unlock its hidden potential!**

'Sweet.' He couldn't contain the grin that was showing through his face. He looked around to pick up a target for his newfound skill. His eyes landed on a good one.

 **Nara Shikamaru – Lazy Genius – lv.10**

 **HP: 700/700**

 **CP: 750/750**

The blonde the next thirty minutes of lecture time observing his classmates as well as his teachers. And suddenly, another window popped up.

 **Observe's level has increase to lv.2.**

'SWEET!' He nearly jumped in joy from where he was sitting. 'If I keep doing this, I can gain more experience!' Looking at the sleeping Nara once again, he activated his ability. "Observe."

 **Nara Shikamaru – Trainee – lv.10**

 **HP: 700/700**

 **CP: 750/750**

 **VIT:** 11

 **STR:** 9

 **DEX:** 10

 **WIS:** 40

 **LUK:** 6

 **INT:** 40

 **Bio data:** Nara Shikamaru is the heir for the Nara clan which is close with both the Yamanaka clan and Akimichi clan. Don't let his lazy demeanor fool you because underneath that skull, is a brain capable of utilizing some of the most advanced tactics that a Nara could ever create. His skills with his shadow techniques are good, but due to his lazy nature, he is not looking forward to improving them.

 **Status: Lazy Genius {+40% experience when doing work, +4 INT every level up, +4 WIS every level up, -1 reputation with women}, Nara clan heir {Max reputation with the Yamanaka clan and Akimichi clan, +5 DEX when fighting at night, +5 STR when fighting at night}**

'Plus fourintelligence and wisdom for leveling up?! No wonder the guy's crazy smart even when he's a lazy ass!' The blonde thought in shock. But he also had respect for the Nara. He might be a lazy ass in public, and probably one in private too, but damn he's smart. And minus one reputation with women? Damn.

Naruto laid his eyes off from the sleeping Nara, god knew he needed it, and he began to take a look at his instructor in front. Iruka-sensei was the only teacher who would bother himself to get to know him, they usually share their talks and stories over a bowl of ramen at Ichirakus every after school session. Now, he's curious about his favorite teacher.

"Observe."

 **Umino Iruka – Academy Instructor – lv.24**

 **HP: 1500/1500**

 **CP: 1000/1000**

 **VIT:**?

 **STR:** ?

 **DEX:** ?

 **WIS:** ?

 **LUK:** ?

 **INT:** ?

 **Bio data:** Umino Iruka is a chunin academy teacher who is very dedicated with his work. He is Uzumaki Naruto's source of comfort and affection.

Wait that's weird… the data wasn't showing much information as it did with Shikamaru's. Maybe Iruka-sensei's level was too high? He didn't even bother trying to do the same thing to Mizuki, because he knew that the same thing will just happen. He needed to check a few things.

"Menu." He whisperingly said. "Skills." As it turned out, he was right. By saying menu and skill, he had taken himself to the skill tree screen. Currently, he observed that he didn't have too many skills since he was still low leveled. And his existing skills weren't exactly branching out either.

 **Sneaking (Passive) lv.2:** Measures how stealthy you can be. Currently at lv.2 {noise made from walking is greatly reduced, 50% chance of successfully executing sneak attacks}

 **Trap Making (Active) lv.2:** Measures how well made your traps are. Currently at lv.2 {trap quality is better, 20% more damage dealt when using traps}

 **Rush (Passive) lv.2:** Allows you to sprint faster without feeling greatly fatigued. Currently at lv.2 {longer sprint time, faster stamina regeneration after running}

 **Observe (Active) lv.2:** Allows you to observe your friends, foes and everything around you to the very last detail. Currently at lv.2 {reveals more friends/foes/items information} **(10 CP)**

Those were currently his existing skills. Seemed fair, since he was just starting to get them. He wondered. If skills could be made almost as randomly as he thought they could, then perhaps things could get a little bit interesting. He yawned subtly, feeling asleep already. And it's still in first period. 'Guh… I can't wait till recess…' his willpower failing him, his eyes became heavier and as his brain shut down, he went out like a light.

* * *

"Observe."

He munched.

"Observe."

He munched.

"Observe."

He munched again.

 **Observe's level has increase to lv.3.**

"FUCK YEAH!" His sandwich flew out from his hands when he jumped to his feet, unable to contain the excitement of leveling up his skills. Not minding the stares he was currently receiving, he giddily began to select his Observe skill to see if anything changed. Currently, it was recess. Recess here in the academy was fairly tame, meaning that no one had to rush to the canteen to grab food like those who attend civilian schools. He was sitting underneath the tree up on a small hill just behind the academy's main building, where there were several other students enjoying their own lunch… well, not anymore due to his outburst.

 **Observe lv.3:** Allows you to observe your friends, foes and everything around you to the very last detail. Currently at lv.3 {reveals more friends/foes/items information}

 **You have unlocked a perk to go along this particular skill, do you want to acquire the perk?**

 **YES/NO**

His smile fell at the mention of an unfamiliar term. "Perk, what's that?"

 **A perk is a permanent power up that you can get when one of your skills have reached its maximum level capacity. The perk that you will unlock will always be related to the skill it originates from. Most perks are passive, thus allowing you to use them whenever you want to without worrying about CP consumption. But, some active perks will only be available to be used once a day.**

"Hell yes!" he punched the YES button on the screen.

 **Congratulations!**

 **You have unlocked the special perk [Keen Eyes]!**

"Ooh, fancy." Naruto marveled before pushing the name of his perk to get a better information out of it.

 **[Keen Eyes] is a passive perk that takes the Observe skill to the next level. Instead of just allowing the gamer to see a character/item's** **information, profile, status, data and level; it allows the gamer to see more subtle things such as the character/item's true intention/value, emotions/condition, mood and even gestures!**

After reading the description of his perk, he decided to test it out on one of his classmates. He looked around, searching for a suitable target. And he found one.

"[Keen Eyes]."

Inuzuka Kiba – Trainee – lv.9

 **HP: 950/950**

 **CP: 750/750**

 **VIT:** 15

 **STR:** 17

 **DEX:** 20

 **WIS:** 6

 **LUK:** 7

 **INT:** 8

 **Bio data:** Inuzuka Kiba is the second child to the Inuzuka matriarch, he lives in his clan compound with his sister and mother. He has a ninja dog buddy which he calls Akamaru. Despite its look, Akamaru is a very faithful puppy and will do everything Kiba says… most of the time.

 **Status:** **Heightened Senses** {impossible to sneak up on, 30% of detection when within 10 meters range}, **Dog Whisperer** {can communicate with canine animals, +50 reputation with the K9 operatives unit}, **Beast Reflex** {stamina regenerates faster, +10 DEX when fighting}

 **Perk activated!**

 **[Keen Eyes]**

 **Inuzuka Kiba is currently bored. His way of getting rid of boredom main involves playing with Akamaru or talking with Akimichi Chouji and Aburame Shino. Slight tensing of muscle shows that he is tired from sitting too long in class, which is why he was playing catch with Akamaru to get rid of the fatigue. He intends to go back home now, but is afraid of getting caught by the teachers who are on duty.**

 **Mood:** 40-50% **(Bored)**

 **Conditions:** Slight aching on his thigh muscle. Possible way to remedy is to move and do activities such as walking or running.

 **Gestures:** Itching for someone to talk to.

Naruto was overjoyed when he read the extra details. So instead of just showing him someone's profile, data and status, this also showed him what their moods, conditions and current gestures were trying to say. This was by far the most awesome thing that has happened to him ever since this whole video game thing happened to him. He would talk to Kiba to help with his current mood, but he's too excited with this whole perk thing going on. He tried his new perk on several other students, figuring that he could somehow level it up. But as it turned out, he couldn't.

The bell rang, telling the students that recess was over.

His class resumed and the moment it started, Iruka-sensei started to distribute books to all of them. "Alright class, today we will be learning the theories about advanced taijutsu." As soon as the word 'theories' escaped the instructor's mouth, everyone groaned, including Naruto himself. Doing practical things would've been better… he waited for the book to get to him and when he did, he touched it, causing a screen to pop up.

 **You've obtained a skill book Advanced Taijutsu Form**

 **Would you like to learn the skill book?**

 **YES/NO**

Shrugging his shoulders, he tapped the YES button. The book flashed gold, causing Naruto to panic as he made an attempt to cover it with his hands. But suddenly, the light disappeared, leaving him with nothing but empty space where the book used to be.

 **You have successfully learned Advanced Taijutsu Form**

Just a second later, another blue window appeared.

 **Advanced Taijutsu Form (Active) lv.1 XP: 000/100 CP: 100**

Actively increases damage and defense when fighting.

Reflex passively increases.

Combat awareness passively increases.

"Doesn't seem to be useful now…" he muttered on a low tone so that no one could hear him. He sighed, was there any better thing that could happen to him right now? Regardless, he waited until Iruka-sensei began his teaching.

"Alright class, I want you to take that book home and learn it. Tomorrow, we will have a written exam as well as a practical exam." The chunin literally dropped the bomb. "Class is dismissed."

Naruto, while the rest of his classmates were getting ready to up and leave the place, sat there dumbfounded. That's it?

"That's it?!"

Iruka, who had yet to leave the classroom, smiled darkly with a vein throbbing through his forehead. "Uzumaki Naruto, stay. You have detention."

"REALLY?!"

"MAKE THAT TWO DETENTIONS YOU NOISY BRAT!"

* * *

In the end, he survived detention and now, he was walking home. As expected, going through two detentions made him leave really late. If his internal clock was right, it's about six or five in the evening already; looking at the sky, he could already see the orange sky turning into purple, telling him that night was approaching. He walked faster, fully aware of how dangerous the street could be. Especially to him, in specific. He took shortcuts, alleyways which were not commonly used by the people for obvious reasons. But that didn't mean that he liked using them; those places were icky.

The young academy student walked home through one of the dark alleys in the Konoha Market District. This part of town, he really didn't like. For a few reasons, actually. One, the people here were asses. They sold him rotten food or worse, none at all. Second, this place reeked of dead rats and other kinds of vermin creeping around. He won't be surprised to know that most of the restaurants here closed due to health reasons. And thirdly, the people here—the right type of people—weren't the friendliest of the bunch either. Though this place was not as worse as the redlight district or the slums, one could never be too careful when walking at a time like this.

Naruto shivered as he walked. The draft here was strong, not to mention that it's always windy in Konoha. Not only was he cold, he was also bored. So, he decided to tinker around with his new abilities.

"Menu… profile… skills."

 **Sneaking (Passive) lv.2:** Measures how stealthy you can be. Currently at lv.2 {noise made from walking is greatly reduced, 50% chance of successfully executing sneak attacks}

 **Trap Making (Active) lv.2:** Measures how well made your traps are. Currently at lv.2 {trap quality is better, 20% more damage dealt when using traps}

 **Rush (Passive) lv.2:** Allows you to sprint faster without feeling greatly fatigued. Currently at lv.2 {longer sprint time, faster stamina regeneration after running}

 **Observe (Active) lv.2:** Allows you to observe your friends, foes and everything around you to the very last detail. Currently at lv.2 {reveals more friends/foes/items information} **(10 CP)**

He got to view his set of skills once again. This time, he analyzed them closely. He noticed that using **Observe** drains him a little of his CP, but the number was nothing to worry about considering how much CP he had. Seriously, when compared to his classmates, he had way more chakra than they do. Not that he's complaining or anything, but… ain't that strange?

"Rush… hmm… seems useless when I'm not running." He shrugged the thought. "Trap making… well, I do like making pranks and not to mention, twenty percent more damage when using traps? That's a win right there." He said with a smirk. But slowly, his smirk faded. "Sneaking huh…" he looked at the clothes he was wearing and frowned. "Never thought I'd say this but… these clothes won't help me get anywhere."

Then, a perfect idea struck him right in the temple.

"I need clothes." Easier said than done. The people hated him, who would sell him clothes? Ninja clothes, to be more specific… he contemplated this particular thought as he walked. "Well, I got to at least try." Swallowing hard, he changed course and headed towards the main street.

He exited the dark alleys to find himself amongst a crowd of people who were busy enjoying their late evening. He marveled. He rarely came out at this hour, so seeing so many people, the lights and the overall atmosphere made him a little nervous. He headed towards the most famous yet common shop that sold ninja gear as well as attire.

Shinobi Emporium.

The place was something that was best described as ordinary. It's a medium sized store, and like most store that sold ninja gear, they sell just about anything. From kunai and shuriken sets to titanium wire, explosive tags, smoke bombs and other useful appliances. But the most interesting thing was that they also accept custom orders. Say that he needed to get a sword made, he could always ask the smithy to make him one or use the forge himself.

After paying so much attention to the store's exterior, he made a step to enter. But, a screen popped up.

You are entering Shinobi Emporium. Shinobi Emporium is a store that sells a variety of ninja related gears. You can purchase clothes, weapons, tools and skill books from this place. To get better prices at selling or buying, consider on practicing your **Bartering** skill.

"Wait, bartering? I don't have that skill." The boy asked with scrunched eyebrows.

Several skills may not be displayed on the skill menu as they are already a part of your life before the game starts. Skills like **Cooking** , **Bartering** , **Speaking** and **Gardening** will not appear in the menu unless the gamer has made them important enough for the game to start prioritize them.

"Ah…" he got it now. "Well, show me my bartering skills, then."

 **Bartering (Active) lv.1:** Measures how successful your chances are when trading/buying/selling with vendors/merchants all across the nations. Currently at lv.1 {-60% chance of getting better prices due to low reputation with Konoha}

"WHAT?!" He shouted in outrage and surprise. "That's it?! What's this reputation bullshit anyway?"

Reputation determines how popular you are with the people, group, factions that you have or have yet to meet. There are six types of reputation that you can have when exploring the game.

 **Hated:** 0-10. You are hated by these people. They would never want anything to do with you or be involved with anything that concerns you. When meeting people who have this stage of reputation, you will be threatened and even as far as being attacked on sight. Be very wary of these people.

 **Disliked:** 10-20. These people dislikes you, but they do not exactly hate you either. People with dislike towards you will have a hard time accepting and believing your words. Though it is not impossible to get them to become friendly with you. They might not show kindness to you, but nor will you be shown anything negative from them either. Be careful around these people.

 **Neutral:** 20-50. These people are okay with you around, so long as you do not cause them any problem. These people may be more willing to listen to you, but they will not believe anything you say either. People who are neutral are potential allies and enemies, so be careful. Try to be nice and friendly around these people.

 **Liked:** 50-60. These people love you. Either due to some favor that you have done for them, or just because of your friendliness. These people will listen to what you say and might believe your words. People who like you will be great allies to have as they will have a better chance to work together with. Try not to have your reputation lowered when with them.

 **Honored:** 60-90. These people worship you. You are their savior. You have power over them. These people will listen and believe most of the things that you will say to them and may also follow you regardless of your objective. Note that people who have this kind of reputation about you will be very dependent or sometimes helpful to you.

 **Unquestioned:** 90-100. These people will follow you to the depths of hell. You are the very meaning of their existence, without you, they might as well better off dead. These people can either be like this due to what you have done for them or to them. Note that it will almost be impossible to ask followers who have this much reputation about you to leave your service.

"Whoa…" that last one sounded a little bit too creepy for him. Now that he knew these things, which was great and all, he needed to know how much reputation he had with the people in his life. "Uh… how should I do this…? Menu… reputation?" he crossed his fingers, hoping that it would work.

And it did. A screen popped up showing him several writings on which he proceeded to read them all.

 **[Konohagakure]:**

Civillians: 5 – Hated

Konoha Super Market: 2 – Hated

Leaf General Goods Store: 4 – Hated

Shinobi Emporium: 20 – Neutral

Ichiraku Ramen: 60 – Liked

Umino Iruka: 60 – Liked

Toujo Mizuki: 5 – Hated

Sarutobi Hiruzen:60 – Liked

 **[Rookie Nine]:**

Uchiha Sasuke: 11 – Disliked

Haruno Sakura: 5 – Hated

Nara Shikamaru: 51 – Liked

Akimichi Chouji: 52 – Liked

Inuzuka Kiba: 52 – Liked

Aburame Shino: 32 – Neutral

Yamanaka Ino: 15 – Disliked

Hyuuga Hinata: ? – ?

[Others]:

?: ? – ?

?: ? – ?

?: ? – ?

?: ? – ?

?: ? – ?

It was heart wrenching to see that the civilian population really did hate him. Then, it was lifted when he saw the old man, Ichiraku and Iruka-sensei liking him. Still, he was curious to see that not all of the people in the class hated him, well Sakura's obvious, but he at least expected Ino to hate him. Sasuke… yeah, figured, question marks… maybe those're just people he hadn't meet. And most importantly… why was Hinata's description was filled with nothing but question marks? Hmm… curious, curious…

After finding out of a new feature to his new power, he entered the shop. Thankfully, he was the only customer inside. He'd never been inside before, so seeing the sight was something new to him. Upon entering, the first sight to greet him were racks, rows, shelves and stands filled with weapons ranging from swords, kodachis, tantos and other sorts of bladed weapons he did not know existed. So, he could only gape like an idiot right on the front door. Next thing he noticed were the books put on display on the front counter.

"Ahem."

A voice, so gruff and heavy, snapped him from his state of amazement, causing him to blush at being caught staring like an idiot. He then found himself looking at a very tall man, twice his height with a very impressive build but had definitely seen better days. The man was radiating an aura of 'I am the owner of this place'-superiority. His hair was short but neat, his beard was the exact opposite of his hair; wild and thick, as if he never even bothered trimming them making a forest of black patch that covered the lower half of his face. Naruto straightened himself as he approached the man who was standing behind the counter.

"Er… hi, I'm looking to buy a new set of clothes?" he began awkwardly with a wry smile.

The man did not say anything, instead he stared at the much shorter blonde without even blinking. The second his staring remained, the more uncomfortable the boy was. He considered on bolting out from the place right here and then, but afraid that it might cause a misunderstanding with the folks outside. To his relief, the man murmured something which his ears could not pick up before retreating to the back.

Naruto sighed in relief. However, that relief was short lived. Not long later, the man returned, in his hands are stacks of several clothing colored in many different colors—Shinobi suited of course.

"Hrrnng."

"Alright… eh… thanks…" Naruto slowly began browsing the stack of clothing that was presented to him. he browsed the selection and he used his skill to examine each of stuffs before him.

"Observe." Several windows that were only visible to him popped up from thin air before him.

 **Black Blade-proof Undershirt:** A comfortable but tight fitting undershirt that provides maximum protection from bladed weapons! {+70% protection against bladed weapons, +20% more successful when sneaking at night} REQ: 10 STR, 15 DEX. DUR: 100/100 **(Common)** – 2000Ryo

Naruto liked what he was seeing already. A good apparel to be used for his future ninja career.

"Common, what's that?" he whispered questioningly to himself.

Throughout the game, you will encounter items with various rarity. The rarer the item, the more powerful, useful and expensive it will be. There are four types of rarity in the game.

 **Poor:** Really, really bad quality items. Cheap, most of the times worthless. Avoid these and use only as extra scrap materials.

 **Common:** Common items that are easily obtained. Ranges from a reasonable price, depending on what item it is. May be easily found in shops and vendors.

 **Unique:** Rare items that is hard to obtain. May or may not be purchasable from your standard shops or vendors, thus their high value. Rare item will frequently drop when your LUK stat is high enough.

 **Legendary:** Items that are considered to be legend or myths. These items will not appear when you are low leveled and are priceless. Invest more on your LUK to have a chance on obtaining these items, even that is unguaranteed.

 **Grey Metal Mesh Cargos:** A pair of reinforced cargo pants with mesh metal, providing decent protection! {+40% protection against bladed weapons, +5 inventory slots} REQ: 8 STR, 8 DEX. DUR: 90/90 **(Common)** – 1400Ryo

 **Thin Plate Chest Piece:** A thin plate chest piece built to protect the wearer from light bladed or blunt attacks! {+80% protection against bladed/blunt weapons, -20% sneaking} REQ: 15 STR, 20 DEX. DUR: 150/150 **(Common)** – 7000Ryo

Well that's a bummer. Wearing the plate armor will give him extra defense, but he'd have to trade his sneaking for that and it seemed that his he did not meet the required STR points oh well.

 **Hardened Metal Gauntlets:** A pair of perfectly tempered and heat treated metal gauntlet giving the wearer protection on the arms area! {+30% protection against bladed/blunt weapons, +50 damage when fighting unarmed} REQ: 5 STR, 10 DEX. DUR: 80/80 **(Common)** – 4500Ryo

 **Heavy Duty Ninja Sandals:** A pair of standard but heavy duty sandals worn by ninjas! {+40% more successful when sneaking at night/morning} REQ: 7 STR, 9 DEX. DUR: 50/50 **(Common)** – 1000Ryo

He looked at the prices for these things and cringed. This will definitely take a lot of toll to his wallet. "Say, are you selling these in sets?" he asked the vendor.

"Urhngg." A nod.

"I'd like to pay in installment, is that fine?"

The vendor stared at the boy for a few seconds. He then shrugged. "Hurrng."

"Great!" the boy smiled. He pulled out all of the bills he had inside his wallet and handed it to the cashier. "Here's all the money I have now, and I'll pay you back by the end of the week, how's that sound?"

"Hrrng."

"Good."

Naruto signed some papers that would cement his agreement to pay by the end of the week. If he didn't, then he'll have the police on his back. He exited the shop with his newly bought, on installment, clothing folded nicely inside a bag. He wore the chest piece and gauntlets just because he didn't want them to occupy his bag. As he was about to walk home, a screen popped up.

 **You have too much item in your hands. Put them in your inventory?**

 **YES/NO**

Naruto blinked. "Wait, I can do that?!" he immediately punched the YES button. Magically, the bag and the clothing he had purchased earlier disappeared into light particles. He then received a notification.

Please check your inventory to view your items.

Naruto eagerly checked his inventory. "Inventory."

 **[Inventory]**

 **Black Blade-proof Undershirt** X1: A comfortable but tight fitting undershirt that provides maximum protection from bladed weapons! {+70% protection against bladed weapons, +20% more successful when sneaking at night} REQ: 10 STR, 15 DEX. DUR: 100/100 **(Common)**

 **Grey Metal Mesh Cargos** X1: A pair of reinforced cargo pants with mesh metal, providing decent protection! {+40% protection against bladed weapons, +5 inventory slots} REQ: 8 STR, 8 DEX. DUR: 90/90 **(Common)**

 **Heavy Duty Ninja Sandals** X1: A pair of standard but heavy duty sandals worn by ninjas! {+40% more successful when sneaking at night/morning} REQ: 7 STR, 9 DEX. DUR: 50/50 **(Common)**

He could not stop the grin from spreading on his face. "Neat, how about I store these as well." He was referring to the chest piece and gauntlets he had on. "Store in inventory." Magically, like before, the two items disappeared into light particles before appearing in his inventory. He checked again just to make sure.

 **[Inventory]**

 **Black Blade-proof Undershirt** X1: A comfortable but tight fitting undershirt that provides maximum protection from bladed weapons! {+70% protection against bladed weapons, +20% more successful when sneaking at night} REQ: 10 STR, 15 DEX. DUR: 100/100 **(Common)**

 **Grey Metal Mesh Cargos** X1: A pair of reinforced cargo pants with mesh metal, providing decent protection! {+40% protection against bladed weapons, +5 inventory slots} REQ: 8 STR, 8 DEX. DUR: 90/90 **(Common)**

 **Heavy Duty Ninja Sandals** X1: A pair of standard but heavy duty sandals worn by ninjas! {+40% more successful when sneaking at night/morning} REQ: 7 STR, 9 DEX. DUR: 50/50 **(Common)**

 **Thin Plate Chest Piece:** A thin plate chest piece built to protect the wearer from light bladed or blunt attacks! {+80% protection against bladed/blunt weapons, -20% sneaking} REQ: 15 STR, 20 DEX. DUR: 150/150 **(Common)**

 **Hardened Metal Gauntlets:** A pair of perfectly tempered and heat treated metal gauntlet giving the wearer protection on the arms area! {+30% protection against bladed/blunt weapons, +50 damage when fighting unarmed} REQ: 5 STR, 10 DEX. DUR: 80/80 **(Common)**

This night just kept on getting better and better.

* * *

 **Well, that's my take on this type of story. Hmm… can't say I'm familiar with Gamer-type stories but I think I've done a pretty solid job on this one. By the way, in case you haven't noticed, this story is greatly inspired by Naruto: The Gamer Files by MaxFic. But there will be a very huge different as we progress.**

 **Sorry that I haven't been updating my other stories that much, seeing that my interest in them is slowly dying. I'll try to get back to them, but no promises.**

 **If you have any suggestions for this story, please tell me via PM. Review only if you have criticism for me or complaints.**

 **This is me, signing out.**


	2. Academy days 1

**Gamelover45192: Ah… I knew I was forgetting something. I'll fix that here.**

… **and should probably mention this in the first chapter but, I do not own Touken Ranbu.**

* * *

 **You are well rested. CP and HP are fully restored.**

"GAAAAH!"

Yeah, that sound's the proof that he's not the brightest bulb around.

As he rubbed his head feeling very for himself, and his ceiling, he groggily opened his eyes to be greeted by a blue hovering text box.

"Gah… damn, I need to get the hang of this shit." He murmured in pain as he rubbed the spot on his head where he felt aching. He waved his hand, dismissing the blue text box. As he recalled the events of yesterday, things began to get… clearer.

"Ah, profile."

He really needed to get used to this.

 **Name:** Uzumaki Naruto

 **Title:** Deadlast {-5% experience points gain}

 **Class:** Gamer

 **Level:** lv.7

 **Affiliation:** Konohagakure

 **HP:** 1000/1000

 **CP:** 1000/1000

 **VIT:** 25 (10)

 **STR:** 12

 **DEX:** 23 (10)

 **WIS:** 9

 **LUK:** ?

 **INT:** 6

 **Status: Prank King** {-8% reputation gains, +8% experience to Sneaking, Trap Making skills}, **?** {+10 VIT, +10 DEX, 10% chance of ?}, **?** {+50 CP  & HP every level up}

 **Bio data:** Uzumaki Naruto is an orphan and the deadlast of the ninja academy after failing the graduation for two times in a row. He is clueless as to his own origins…

 **Money:** 0Ryo

 **Next level up:** 894/1000

Instead of feeling better, seeing his stats made him feel even worse. Really, level seven and this was all he got? Well… he gotta admit that he's… eh… slow, but _this_? Man… he's so not looking forward on seeing the Uchiha's stats.

"Urhgg… I soooo don't want to go to school…" he groaned, his head back on the pillow.

 **WARNING: If you skip class frequently, reputation with the Sandaime, academy teachers and academy students will drop.**

"Fuck." Without even looking, he could already guess what was displayed on the box. Regardless of how not-in-the-mood he was for school, he knew that he will have to attend it. He reluctantly got out of bed and walked to the bath. He brushed his teeth, floss, yadda yadda and all those things. He still got some time, which was surprising since he was really that he'd be late today. He did not have any plans on being late, since he didn't want his reputation with the people around him to get lower than what it already was.

After he finished his hygiene needs, he changed into his newly bought clothes from last night. He could wear the black top, pants, sandals and gauntlets but not the chest piece, since his STR was not enough. Strange… he could just simply wear it, right?

He tried doing it.

"W—Whoa… this shit's heavier than I thought?" the boy felt trouble on balancing his body the moment he put the chest piece on. As if hearing his implicit need of information, a blue textbox appeared before him.

 **When you violate a rule like the one you are currently doing, you will feel negative effects. These may include over encumbered, dizziness, temporary blindness and will only disappear once you have solved that issue. However, it is not impossible to ignore these effects since it is up to you if you want to ignore them or not.**

"Sooo wearing this makes me feel heavier and harder to walk?" he simply concluded to himself. A frown then marred his face. "Well that sucks, I can't bring this to the academy. Oh well." He took the chest piece off and he felt normal instantly. He put on his orange jacket and took a look at the mirror.

"It felt weird wearing mis-match clothes…"

The orange top and black bottom bothered him somehow… did he check for OCD?

Nah.

He shrugged the feeling off and proceeded to the kitchen to begin breakfast.

Now breakfast. His breakfast consisted of cereal and milk. But now that he got new powers, he's gonna try something he'd been aching to try.

"Observe."

 **Ninja'Os Cereal:** A common brand cereal popular with both civilians and shinobis! {+50 HP when consumed} **(Poor)**

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

He grabbed the, what he thought to be, intangible textbox and shoved it closer to his face so that he could properly made sure that his eyes were not making him seeing things.

This shit adds his health.

Eating. Adds. Health.

"Just… just how? When? Why?" he shut himself mid questioning. Sometimes, there were things left unknown.

And this was definitely one of it.

But hey, wasn't like he's complaining.

Wordlessly, the boy grabbed his favorite bowl from a cupboard and placed it on the cheap wooden table that was so close on collapsing… damn termites. He opened his fridge to check if he still got any milk left. And thankfully, there was milk. He poured his cereal into the bowl and the milk followed soon afterwards. He plopped himself down the chair, readjusted it so that he could eat properly and dug his spoon into the bowl. He took a bite. He paused. Then he took another bite.

Of course, shitty food is shitty.

 **Quest Alert!**

 **I'mma find me some bastards…: Find out who made it tradition to eat cereal with normal milk instead of chocolate milk**

 **It isn't wrong, right? RIGHT?**

 **Completion reward: 100XP**

 **+50 WIS, +50 STR**

 **Failure: 0XP**

 **Eternal disappointment**

"Oh fuck you!"

This 'game' he called life was beginning to screw him already.

* * *

"…as a ninja, you will be involved in many assignments that require you to put the best of your effort on all sorts of different fields. For example, in an undercover assignment, you must be good in acting, lying, and persuading."

"But sensei, mom told me that it's bad to lie."

Everyone stared at the completely unrelated random boy who won't be making a solid appearance in this story.

"Er…" the tanned skin instructor blanched, unsure of how to answer. But then his face hardened. "Principal's office. Now."

Everyone's eyes followed the boy's form until he was completely out from the room.

"Mizuki, tell the other teachers that class-C has one empty chair. Again."

"On it." The pale haired teacher hummed, checking his board.

Iruka coughed loudly. "Ahem. Let's resume."

Yeah, by that time, Naruto was not even listening anymore.

The blonde male sighed. Even if he's gifted with a super annoying yet, in all perspective, cool power; he still felt that he won't be strong when he's progressing this slowly.

 **Uchiha Sasuke – Rookie – lv.11**

And Sasuke-teme's already at level eleven!

Just what kind of shit dropping training did the teme do anyway? Sure, he'll admit that Sasuke's one genius bastard… okay, he got nothing more to admit aside from the fact that guy was just that good.

Yes, he will cry himself to sleep tonight for admitting all of that.

But never mind the teme's level, he should be paying attention to his own. He played some videogames over by Kiba's a few times, but not as often. He needed to raise his level fast and in videogames the only way to do that was to defeat monsters and do quests. He completely got the quest part but how in the nine hells was he going to fight a monsters? It's not like they pop up tall grasses, right?

Right?

Anyhow, he'll have to have an alternative to that. He knew that spamming **Observe** every one minute will not do him good since it only increased Observe's skill level instead of his level and not to mention that it'll consume his chakra too.

"Alright, hope you guys are ready to go outside for the practical spar." Iruka announced and immediately, he could hear the approval.

Naruto blinked. Yes. This will work… this will definitely work.

Not long later, everyone from Naruto's class were already out on the fields. A big field, this place. The ninja academy was meant to house hundreds and maybe even one thousand students, including instructors. The main building itself was very big and it contained twenty different classes for each five years. The graduation system was honestly too complicated as those who passed the graduation on their first try could immediately enroll and be registered as a genin level ninja while those who failed will need to try the next year. This meant that the students have at most five tries before they were completely considered as drop outs by the teachers.

Naruto, as someone who had failed three years straight, knew just how hard it was for one to pass the exam. But at least, they're not charging tuition fee for orphans like him, but that's not really out of place.

Yes, the majority of the people who enrolled in the academy are actually nameless orphans.

The blonde boy balled his fists hard. This test was a chance to prove to both others and himself that he could indeed become strong. Sure, it may not work instantly like magic, but that's basically the whole point of all of this.

His life is a game.

And a game is what his life is.

If that were to be put in a sentence it would be saying that now that his life was a game, he will need to discard his own life and live the new life he was currently living. Or should he say playing.

"Alright, I want all of you to make orderly lines and follow mine and Mizuki-sensei's instruction." Iruka raised his voice so that his students could hear him. "Let's do this according to attendance."

The students immediately moved to find their place. Chouji was standing at the very front of the row, obviously because his family name—which was Akimichi—begun with the letter 'A'. The boy was nervous, but this was not the first practice spar he'd done.

"Mizuki-sensei will be your sparring partner he and I will evaluate your forms, technique and combat efficiency as you spar."

So forms, technique and combat efficiency were the base of the scores eh… the Uzumaki grumbled. His form was nonexistent, he could admit that. His technique was abysmal, he could admit that too. But if combat efficiency was equal to his creativity in coming up with surprises during the spar, then he got a little bit of confidence.

 **The [Gamer's Mind] skill is keeping your thoughts calm and rational.**

"Huh, weird, I thought I didn't have that skill."

Well sorry for forgetting about it.

"Okay we'll begin." That got everyone to minimize the amount of noise they were making. "Chouji, you'll start first!"

As the fight went on, Naruto was deep in his thoughts.

'Okay, think me, if I want to win against Mizuki-sensei or at least try to look good in fighting, I'll need to make up for my loses.' He thought to himself. 'Let's review. Iruka-sensei said that this is a practice spar, meaning that there's really no lose or win situation. But let's say that I beat Mizuki-sensei… no, I need to beat him. But… how…?'

He raised his head.

"Keen Eyes."

Uchiha Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Keen Eyes kicked and Naruto was already reading.

 **Toujo Mizuki – Academy Instructor – lv.23**

 **HP: 1250/1250**

 **CP: 1000/1000**

 **VIT:** 27

 **STR:** 20

 **DEX:** 24

 **WIS:** 26

 **LUK:** 4

 **INT:** 21

 **Bio data:** Toujou Mizuki is the assistant teacher of the class Umino Iruka is teaching at; he is also the latter's childhood friend. He is an obedient kouhai and respects Iruka as his senpai.

 **Status:** **Suspicious Influence** {a mysterious lingering effect, +8 VIT, +4 DEX}, **Influentially Charismatic** {can gain favors of others more easily, +5 reputation with every people he meet, 40% more successful when bartering}

 **Perk activated!**

 **[Keen Eyes]**

 **Toujo Mizuki is currently annoyed. He felt that it is unnecessary to even put more than two ounce of effort against these kids. The way his form is relaxed even as he is fighting suggests that he is holding back against his students, a lot. His smile is easily identified as fake as he has no intention of smiling at all.**

 **Mood:** 20-30% **(Annoyed)**

 **Conditions:** Bottling every negative emotion that could escape and ruin his image. Warning. Will get violent if provoked

 **Gestures:** Looking forward on getting the activity over with.

"Whoa…" Naruto murmured in honest surprise. "I knew he never really liked me but I suspect him for being a decent guy…" thanks to his abilities, he could now tell that Mizuki-sensei was indeed an ass.

Okay, he now knew a little bit more about Mizuki-sensei and… it didn't help his situation one bit. He saw his assistant teacher's status and holy hell they didn't make sense. The first one, Suspicious Influence, was just as its name suggested, suspicious. Just what kind of third rate drug shit he'd been taking anyway?

The second one made a little bit more sense since the guy was actually well liked by some of the lesser and unimportant side female characters in class.

On a completely different note, he never really gets why there're so many side characters in a story.

Shaking his thoughts from obliviousness, he then sighed.

"If only I knew a little thing or two…"

Wait.

Yesterday. Skill book.

"Skills."

Now, Uchiha Sasuke was staring at the blonde weirdly.

 **[Sneaking] (Passive) lv.2:** Measures how stealthy you can be. Currently at lv.2 {noise made from walking is greatly reduced, 50% chance of successfully executing sneak attacks}

 **[Trap Making] (Active) lv.2:** Measures how well made your traps are. Currently at lv.2 {trap quality is better, 20% more damage dealt when using traps}

 **[Rush] (Passive) lv.2:** Allows you to sprint faster without feeling greatly fatigued. Currently at lv.2 {longer sprint time, faster stamina regeneration after running}

 **[Observe] (Active) lv.3:** Allows you to observe your friends, foes and everything around you to the very last detail. Currently at lv.2 {reveals more friends/foes/items information} **(10 CP) [Perk: Keen Eyes]**

 **[Advanced Taijutsu Form] (Active):** The advanced form of common tajutsu forms. Currently at lv.1 {actively increases damage and defense when fighting. Reflex passively increases. Combat awareness passively increases.} **(50 CP)**

 **[Gamer's Mind] (Passive) :** An ability granted from the moment you discovered your powers. Currently at {Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through, allows peaceful state of mind and immunity to psychological status effect.}

 **[Gamer's Body] (Passive) :** Grants a body that allows for the user to live the real world like a game. {After sleep in a bed, restores HP, MP and all status effects.}

Really, he couldn't believe that someone forgot that the last two existed.

…oh shut up.

But yeah, now he remembered that he had a new skill. The advanced taijutsu form. While the description reassured him, even though only a little bit, he's still not sure on how to defeat Mizuki-sensei. He's a deadlast academy student and Mizuki's an experience chunin academy instructor who hated him. He won't hold back against him, he knew it.

 **Through thoughtful realization and thinking, your WIS and INT has gone up one level.**

He sighed tiredly.

Time passed and it role call was close. He only got like… three other students before it's his turn to fight.

"UWAAAH!"

Well, now there're two of them.

The students who have fought were either sitting or standing on the sidelines, observing the spar before them. Naruto paid a particularly close attention to his white haired sensei and noticed that he wasn't even breaking a sweat. Bastard must be really good. Better, when he's not holding back.

He also noticed, for a while now, that Uchiha Sasuke had been sitting beside him this whole entire freaking time.

He was there, I just really didn't bother with him.

And the blonde was pretty surprised at himself for not lashing at the boy for… some reasons. Maybe it's his **[Gamer's Mind]** ability that made him this calm. After all, as it was stated on the description, it made him calmly and logically thinks things through. Kind of contradicting to his personality, if he should admit.

Damn, he's admitting a lot of things already. And it's still chapter two!

He heard the sound of somebody hitting the dirt, looked like there's only one more guy before him. He didn't even bother watching the fight, knowing that the results would be the same. An academy student could never defeat an academy instructor… unless the former were to bring their mother to school.

Seriously, he's glad that they didn't have bring-your-mom or dad-to-school day.

That'd be so uncool. Not just because he's a filthy little orphan.

Another fifteen minutes passed and the sound of dirt being crash landed upon struck his ears. So who's the unlucky bastard now?

"Uchiha Sasuke, you're up!"

"…"

Wordlessly, the raven teen who had been sitting quietly beside the blonde stood up and walked towards the ring in an Uchiha-esque manner. Naruto's eyes followed the boy's form, strangely empty.

Remember when he said that there's no way that an academy student could beat an academy teacher?

"Hajime!"

He'll take that back.

Sasuke's movements were fast, so much faster than the rest of them. Mizuki, being a trained chunin and having much more experience in combat, dodge the Uchiha's fast swipe by sidestepping a little to the left. Mizuki saw the boy's leg muscle twitch, he was that good; he saw his muscle twitch. And the moment it twitched, Mizuki was ready to block against the nasty roundhouse which shook him a little. With superior strength, he pushed the Uchiha, sending him skidding backwards. But Sasuke was anything if not stubborn. He charged again, this time with the intention of pushing his sensei back. Everyone could only watch in amazement when the Uchiha pulled out a very complicated taijutsu maneuver that allowed him to skillfully dodge Mizuki's attempt in hitting him. The raven boy's eyes narrowed. He saw an opening.

No, he knew that there was one in the first place.

He raised his right leg, bending his knee.

Mizuki suspected a flying knee.

But the assistant did not suspect a roundhouse from his left leg.

The sound of Sasuke's head hitting Mizuki's head was the only thing heard.

Needless to say, Sasuke passed the test with flying colors.

The Uchiha, after receiving the praise and compliment he deserved, modestly retreated back to a secluded place.

Naruto had been watching this whole entire time. He saw Sasuke's forms. He saw his technique. He saw his combat efficiency. And all of them were good. Too damn good.

But he did not lose heart. He refused to! In fact, it strengthened him.

"Alright, next one, Naruto! You're up!"

Everyone watched as the usually orange wearing boy walked towards the center of the ring. 'Usually' because the boy was not wearing orange at the moment but that caught the least of their attention.

"Heh, the deadlast's sooo gonna git his ass kicked."

"Why does he even bother…?"

"Pft… this will be quick."

He tamed his tongue. If he was not used to this, he'd lash out already. But his body, his mind, they're stopping him. After a few seconds, he didn't even care what they said anymore. He made his way, with every step an insult was thrown at him. However, unlike before, they didn't weight him down even a bit.

Iruka, watching the scene as it unfold before him, frowned.

'Be strong, Naruto.'

Another pair of eyes, paler than the teacher's, watched as the sun haired boy made his way towards the ring.

'Naruto-kun…'

"Well Naruto." Mizuki, underneath his encouraging smile, was smirking in glee. "Ready to start."

"..."

Unexpectedly, the boy did not answer. Instead he took a stance, a form. He raised his arms, the left apart from the right, his legs separated, giving him a strong foundation of himself. He, for once, was not smiling that usual Uzumaki Naruto™ smile. What was shown on the boy's face was the kind of face that solemn samurais would make as they stare upon the stampede of cavalry that was about to lay waste to them.

He knew that he can't win this…

But he'd be damn if he didn't try.

Iruka, steeled himself. Both mentally and physically.

"Hajime!"

 **A new skill has been obtained!**

 **[Sealed Hatred Mode]**

* * *

"Naruto… are you aware of what you've done?"

Later that day… he was personally called by the old man Hokage himself. Iruka was standing beside him, his face a mix between worry, surprise and shock. He couldn't blame the man, he really couldn't. Currently, the Hokage office was occupied by three people. Six if you count the three ANBU hidden within the darkest corner of the room. Uzumaki Naruto was tied in chains, his hands bound, body strapped to the metal chair and neck restrained by a collar. His head drooped forward, not letting the two adults see his face.

Iruka was panicking. For two reasons. First, what he experienced – what the kids in the academy experienced it was… it was… demonic. It's the same like twelve years ago. During that… that… that day. The second reason was due to Naruto's current state or the fate of his state, if he were to be more specific. Seeing his normally cheerful and bright student being restrained in chains and cuffs instantly set off his daddy instincts. His mind was telling him to scream and plea for Naruto's release, but he knew that this was important. Both for him and Naruto himself.

Hiruzen was keeping an eye on the boy even after he had asked his question. When he felt an ominous presence, one that he had not felt ever since twelve years ago, exploding in his village; he nearly got a heart attack. He was sure that it was not only him who felt the sudden explosion of raw, malevolent energy. The whole village did.

In fact, there're still ninjas checking the academy.

He shuddered to think what the students felt. He was a good distance away from the academy, and that nearly gave him a heart attack.

"I… I wanted to be strong, Ji-ji…"

Both Iruka and Hiruzen heard him.

"But – But – How – Why?!" Iruka couldn't speak properly, his rigid mind preventing him from doing so.

Hiruzen raised a hand, telling Iruka to let the boy clarify himself.

Naruto resumed talking.

"Hearing them say that I'm weak… deadlast… failure… I want to become strong." His voice was threatening to falter. "I… I can't tell what happened but suddenly when I charged at Mizuki-sensei, something in me snapped." His voice broke. "I – It's scary Ji-ji! I – I – I don't know what it is!"

 **Fall. Die. Kill. Murder.**

 **The [Gamer's Mind] skill is keeping your thoughts calm and rational.**

"But…" Both Iruka and Hiruzen noticed how calm he sounded now, despite being nearly broken and shaken just literally seconds ago. "It's not a stranger. That feeling… it's as if I felt it before, a long time ago. It made me strong."

Hiruzen, briefly, closed his eyes.

Of course he knew.

He knew… a lot.

" _Hokage-sama! No one survived!"_

"… _Clean the bodies and make sure that no one find out about this."_

" _Yes Hokage-sama. But what about Naruto-kun?"_

"… _Inoichi will know what to do… for his sake."_

The old monkey opened his eyes once again, cutting the memory from playing.

There's no more hiding.

He gave Iruka a solemn nod. One that the tanned instructor figured out.

"No, Hokage-sama, he's not ready-"

"He is Iruka." The old man's voice was as hard as his diamond staff.

No homo there.

"We have been hiding these things for too long." He sent the quiet Uzumaki an apologetic look. "If you hate me, Naruto-kun, then I can't blame you."

The Kage reached for a drawer and in that drawer was something he was not looking to give the boy at such a young age. A scroll. An ordinary scroll with no special traits. But there was something that made it special, one important detail that everyone overlooked.

The strings that bounds the scroll.

"I have been keeping secrets from you Naruto-kun, and I know that you know." The Hokage began. "It's selfish of me and may seem unfair in your eyes… but know that whatever I have done." He whispered. "And could not done." He then raised his voice again. "I did it for you."

He gave the boy his scroll.

Iruka had untied the bindings that kept the young Jinchuriki fixed to the chair. Naruto slowly took the scroll form the old man. One particular detail stood out to him the most. It's the string. It stood out because it was not a string. It's hair. Red hair.

Hiruzen tipped his head. He had no right to watch.

He unrolled the scroll and with it, his tears followed.

 _My son._

 _Do not hate Sarutobi for this. Hate me instead. Your mother and I were not strong enough to survive along with you. But at least, we were able to protect you._

What made him shake was not because of how poorly written the letter is. It's because of the obstruction that caused it to be poorly written. He could tell that his parents were hurting because of the blood blots that stained most of the paper.

 _I love you Uzumaki Naruto. We love you. Your mother and I. It is sad to know that we cannot see you grow up to the wonderful young man we know you'll turn out to be._

No… he's not wonderful…

 _The Kyuubi… was too strong. Your mother and I had to seal it inside of you._

"Huh…?!" His face show the expression of a yakuza member who had been betrayed by his sworn brother.

 _The destruction. The deaths. There were too many, Naruto. I hope you understand why it came to this. But we know that your life would be hell on earth. It saddened both me and your mother to drop such a huge weight on your shoulders… well stomach._

Dammit Minato.

 _But know this. We trust you. We love you. We know that our baby boy will…_

Some parts were not even legible anymore due to the dried out teardrops that stained them.

… _will become an excellent shinobi._

His own tear dropped, staining the scroll.

 _Do not hate the people Naruto. They do not know._

How Jesus-like of you, Minato.

 _This letter is not enough to contain the amount of words that we want to say to you. Live a happy life Naruto, always believe in yourself and don't become someone like Jiraiya-sensei, alright?_

 _Your dad, Minato._

He wasted no time.

"My dad – Ji-ji – He – who?!" frantically, the boy demanded. Minato won't just cut it.

Hiruzen, still with his hat tipped, gave one single nod.

"Yes. Your father… is Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage."

Iruka's eyes went as wide as Naruto's.

The fourth's son. He's… he's the son of the fourth…

 **Quest Alert!**

 **Long term quest: Who am I?**

 **Now you know who you are.**

 **Completion reward: 9000XP**

 **You have leveled up! 1 skill point/s ready to use!**

 **You have leveled up! 1 skill point/s ready to use!**

 **You have leveled up! 1 skill point/s ready to use!**

 **You have leveled up! 1 skill point/s ready to use!**

 **You have leveled up! 1 skill point/s ready to use!**

 **You have leveled up! 1 skill point/s ready to use!**

 **You have leveled up! 1 skill point/s ready to use!**

 **You have leveled up! 1 skill point/s ready to use!**

Naruto had long dropped the scroll he was reading. He could not hold it back. The tears that escaped his eyes fell like a waterfall.

"Naruto, wait!"

The boy rushed out of the door, not even bothering on closing it.

"Don't chase after him, Iruka." Hiruzen sighed in self-loathing instead of tiredness. As he was saying this, the old man who was past his retirement age clutched his head. "It's best to let him deal with this himself… it's a lot to take for him."

The pineapple headed instructor gritted his teeth. He did not want to listen to the old man, but he knew that the Kage was true. There's no one to help Naruto other than himself.

"Still… it's too early Hokage-sama…"

The Hokage raised his head from the desk, giving Iruka a glare that froze him up. "I myself was not aware that you knew about his parents Iruka." His expression then softened. "Why? Is it that obvious?"

The brown haired teacher nodded. "Yes." He laughed bitterly, looking at the floor. "It was just a while ago, in fact. A few weeks before today. I was walking the streets after a day of teaching then I looked at the direction of the mountain. When I saw Yondaime-sama's face, I saw someone. And Naruto perfectly fits Yondaime-sama's image. It struck me, which is why I was not able to teach the next day. I locked myself up in my apartment, feeling miserable." He almost lost his voice.

"All this time… I knew that the Kyuubi was sealed into Naruto, and I have never hated him for being the container. But it's just!" he failed to notice his hand losing color due to the pressure he applied himself. "It's – It's…!"

"Iruka-kun…" Hiruzen's gaze turned soft, his eyes becoming faraway.

"When the Yondaime died… Minato… he told me to announce the news of the Kyuubi's sealing to the village. At first, I thought that his intentions were for his son to be named hero. But, see how that turned out to be." The soft squeaking sound of his chair escaped. "This old man lived a long life, but it took me not long ago to realize that his true intentions, the real reason why he sealed the Kyuubi was because he wanted to show his son that he has faith in him."

"As a father myself… I could not bring myself to put such a heavy burden on my son. But even fathers made mistakes… and I can assure you, Minato sealing the Kyuubi in Naruto was no mistake." Declared the Hokage solemnly. "I see it as a plan. The Kyuubi, while being Naruto's greatest threat, was also Naruto's ultimate defense… it has always been this way with Jinchuriki's."

Iruka got it now. "So you're saying that… Minato-sama sealed the Kyuubi into Naruto so that he could be safe…?"

"In the man's own unique way, I believe." The current Kage nodded.

"It's still… unfair for Naruto. Because of the Kyuubi, he was alone. No kids his age wanted to play with him because of what their parents told them. How can a father do that?"

Even with the current mood filling the room, the aged Kage managed himself a warm and kind smile, one that befits an elderly individual like him.

"Iruka-kun… you will know that particular feeling when you are a father yourself." The Hokage said. "For now, continue to be the teacher that Naruto admires. Help him. And perhaps, he might acknowledge you as one."

Iruka, while he did not fully understand what the Hokage meant, understood that it was his duty to help Naruto.

"Permission to leave the room, Hokage-sama?"

A smile on the old man's face.

"Permission granted."

Iruka dashed out of the room, his destination clear in Hiruzen's eyes. While the old man knew that his age was not helping one bit, he could already see the similarity in the two for a very long time.

"That boy… you two are so much alike yourself, Iruka."

* * *

"That old man…!"

He trusted him.

"Iruka-sensei too…!"

He trusted them.

"Why…?"

He fell to his knees

The forest of death. The place was as intimidating as the name suggested, but Uzumaki Naruto did not care. He ran blindly and before he knew it, he's here already. Ignore all the creepy trees, dangerous wild animals that could possibly swallow you whole in one bite, hazardous man eating plants, giant centipedes, giant crocodiles, giant snakes, giant bears, giant tigers, random rocks falling, deliciously attractive poisonous fruits that makes you want to eat them at a single glance and cute pandas, then it's a beautiful place.

Okay, just kidding, it's creepy as fuck.

And yes, the super long list of things was so that I could increase word count.

"WHHHYY!?"

Let it be reminded here that Uzumaki Naruto was just a twelve year old boy with no family.

The sky roared, it rained.

"OH GREAT! NOT ONLY AM I PISSED, I'M WET TOO!"

Hehehe, pissed and wet…

"SHUT UP!"

…fine.

Naruto spat the rainwater that managed to enter his mouth and he glared at the rain soaked ground. "Dammit… damn it all!" he kicked a nearby tree. "Ji-ji you old coot, you lied…" he then remembered the old man's words. "But… to protect me? From who?" now, he's starting to regret leaving things the what he did in the office.

"Moooou~!" He ended up kicking the tree more and more to release his frustration. "I sent Mizuki-sensei to the hospital!" Kick. "I found out that Hokage-Jiji knew who my parents were this whole entire time and he didn't even bother telling me!" Kick. "I bolted out from the room before even finding out who my parents were!" Kick. "Iruka-sensei was there!" Kick. "and now I am kicking a fucking tree in the middle of a goddamned forest that was introduced far too early in this story!"

Kick.

And ow, that burns.

Fortunately for the tree, and probably his own leg for that matter, he stopped kicking it. The Uzumaki looked up, his vision full of leaves and the dark night sky. He didn't even bother covering his eyes, he just let rain enter them. This whole entire thing was too messy… what he did at the academy and now finding out about his heritage… that's something that should happen in like, what, five more chapters?

…you're still going on with that?

Tired and not knowing what to do anymore, he crashed his back on the tree's surface and slid down to sit on the muddy ground. He felt so miserable, ashamed, betrayed and afraid.

More on being afraid.

What will he do now? With him sending Mizuki-sensei's ass to the hospital and display of that freaky scary power that he had concluded to be the Kyuubi's, how could he ever face his classmates or even Iruka-sensei again? He didn't even bother looking at his reputation list, because he knew that it's probably in the red.

The sound of thunder roared, it did nothing to ease his depressing self. Naruto's tears dried out on the way here, but he didn't stop crying either. He now knew the reason for the people's hate towards him. They had been seeing him as the demon fox, as the Kyuubi. How… why…?

Why him?

"Why me… dad…?"

Then, it was at that moment, when a sword fell on to his head.

Don't worry, it's sheathed.

"OW! What the hell hit me?!" he then saw the long rectangular object in between his knees.

Ugh I feel so bad for writing this…

And it was, yes even his not-so-intelligent brain could tell that it was a sword. The boy did not even registered why a sword would fall down from a tree, he simply left it to the imaginations of the people out there, and he simply paid attention to the detail he was currently seeing. The sword was no longer than seventy three centimeters long, how he knew this specific measurement, he did not know himself, and was sheathed. The sheathe itself was rather unique. Instead of the common black or even green he'd seen most ninjas have, this one was red. The tip of the sheath was shining in what seemed to be bronze similar to the hand guard and pommel of the sword, he couldn't really tell due to it being dark. The hilt was wrapped in cords as dark as the night itself, making it a rather good contrast with the overall redness of the sheath.

"Did this thing just seriously fell on me?" He asked no one in particular. Curious, he held the sword in his hands. He felt… strange. Maybe because it was his first time holding a sword. A real sword, not those cheap wooden ones used by kids as toys. He hold it with both hands and even as the rain fell, unsheathed it show the gleaming, silver-like blade hidden underneath the sheath.

"Whoa…" he could not contain his awe.

The sword was beautiful. Remarkably so.

Don't trust his words for it, since he's not someone who's knowledgeable about swords. But he believed that this sword, being so randomly out of place for it to be on a tree in a really scary forest of Konoha, was also priceless. He can feel the true value of this sword just by holding it. Remembering that steel will in fact rust when exposed to water and oxygen, he quickly sheathed the blade back into its proper scabbard.

"Huh…" at this point, he wasn't minding the rain any attention. "Observe."

 **Name:** Kashuu Kiyomitsu

 **Title:** -

 **Class:** Uchigatana

 **Level:** lv.1

 **Affiliation:** -

 **HP:** 33/33

 **CP:** -/-

 **VIT:** 13

 **STR:** 34

 **DEX:** 37

 **WIS:** 36

 **LUK:** 26

 **INT:** 36

 **Status:** -

 **Bio data:** A mysterious sword found falling from a tree despite its name.

 **Money:** -

 **Next level up:** 0/500

"Wait a minute? Why the hell is it showing me a person's status instead of an item's?" Naruto wondered. This did not happen before. "Game, know anything about this?"

 **Hint: Currently checking… no.**

"Thanks." He muttered sarcastically. Then he sighed. "Man… the things that happen to me today…" he could not exasperate more than what he was already doing, so, he'll stick on walking back home. "Ah… just to be safe. Store in inventory."

The Uchigatana disappeared from his hand and reappeared inside his inventory. He began to make his cold way home.

"Naruto!"

And he arrived.

Naruto was uneasy when he saw the approaching figure of Iruka approaching him. But once he took a look at the man's face, he felt even more uneasy.

"You… you…" the man struggled to catch his breathing. "You suddenly ran like that… whew…" he finally got it back. "You worried me, Naruto. Hokage-sama too." the young instructor knew that the boy just had a lot in his mind, but he was glad to know that he was alright.

And it would be even more alright if they moved this scene. Please.

"Why should he…"

Iruka frowned at the tone the boy used. Perhaps, he would be like this too if he were to be in the boy's shoes. Sandals. Whatever. "I… can't say that I know how to deal with what you've experienced, Naruto. But…" he bent his form, reaching down.

Naruto felt his body tensing up.

"I will never, ever, ever hate you." Iruka whispered to the boy's ear. His grip unknowingly tightened. "For me, you will always be Uzumaki Naruto. My number one idiotic, stubborn, dense, hard-headed, tardy, ramen eating-

"Okay, okay, I got it."

"-student." That did not stop him from still hugging the boy. After a while, Iruka let go of the hug. He gave Naruto an all too familiar smile for the boy. "Let's head back home, okay? And probably grab a bowl of ramen or tw-SO FAST!" he lashed at the blonde who was already making a beeline for the forest's exit.

Still alone in the forest, Iruka chuckled to himself.

"Don't ever change, Naruto."

He, on the other hand, really needs it. And this was the last uniform he had too…

* * *

After several (twelve) bowls of ramen from Ichiraku's, Uzumaki Naruto was back home. The first he did when he reached the front door was to take off his wet clothes, pants, sandals and boxers in the laundry to dry them while he hit the showers. He took a cold shower, because the heater's not working anymore. After his cold shower, he changed into a fresh set of clothes consisting of a plain white t-shirt with a spiral logo in the middle and a pair of orange shorts.

He turned the TV on and switched to comedy, because he really needed something to lighten up the sour mood he's currently in. He was twenty minutes deep into the manzai stand-up comedy that was currently airing and then he remembered something important.

"Right. The sword!"

Short term memory loss, much?

"Inventory." He selected the sword that he… eh… made fell on him earlier from the forest. And magically in golden particles, the sword appeared. Now that he got proper lighting, he can clearly say that the material from before was indeed bronze. Copper won't shine like this, and it was definitely not gold.

"Still… it has a human stat screen instead of an item's… strange." He murmured. "Let's try something else."

"Keen eyes."

 **Name:** Kashuu Kiyomitsu

 **Title:** -

 **Class:** Uchigatana

 **Level:** lv.1

 **Affiliation:** -

 **HP:** 33/33

 **CP:** -/-

 **VIT:** 13

 **STR:** 34

 **DEX:** 37

 **WIS:** 36

 **LUK:** 26

 **INT:** 36

 **Status:** -

 **Bio data:** A mysterious sword found falling from a tree despite its name.

 **Money:** -

 **Next level up:** 0/500

Perk activated!

 **[Keen Eyes]**

 **Kashuu Kiyomitsu is currently inactive. He is in deep slumber, thus explaining the current state he was in. His blade shows no signs of scratches or any visually identified evidence of harm, but it is safe to say that his edge has dulled.**

 **Mood:** 0% **(Inactive)**

 **Conditions:** Dull edge, side effect from not being properly maintained. Could be remedied by sharpening on a proper sharpening stone.

 **Gestures:** Currently inactive.

"Heeh… so it worked huh…" and pretty detailed too.

However, using Keen Eyes just raised a few more questions. Who is Kashuu Kiyomitsu? Why is he sleeping? And if he pieced this together into one, was Kashuu Kiyomitsu this sword?

He laid the sword on the floor before him.

"So if he's in deep slumber, the only way is to wake him up…" the boy began thinking. "But how do you wake up a sword?"

He tried poking it.

"Oi~ wake up!"

Nope, not working.

He shook it repeatedly.

Still nothing.

"Okay, you left me no choice…" he knew that this was probably stupid but who cares? No one. He reached out a hand and channeled his chakra into said hand before channeling it to the sword.

"Huh, nothing happened aftera-AAAAAH!"

He was lifted into the air by a strangely thin hand. He did not see his captor's face but he did caught a glimpse of red and black.

"Oho~? So you're my new master, eh?"

Naruto opened his eyes and before him was…

A guy.

A guy dressed in fancy clothes and…

Are those high heels?

The first thing he noticed about the stranger was not his overly charming looks, but instead the familiar red sheathed sword he had on his free hand.

"My apologies master." Slowly and carefully, the stranger placed him down. Naruto now got an even better look at the stranger.

As many other people out there, excluding children under the age of twelve, he was taller than him. As he'd thought before, he was dressed nicely. His top attire consisted of what Naruto would refer to as a buttoned up black shirt with collar and buttons colored in gold. Over the shirt was a very elegant haori, colored in black with golden linings to match the clothes underneath it. He had a maroon scarf on, which was strange considering that it's the summer season outside and a belt to keep his seemingly tight black slacks from getting loose. Yes he was right, he was indeed wearing high heels. And he has polished nails, red, the same color as his eyes. His hair was neatly groomed, he could see the shine reflected from the lights. The mysterious person's hair was tied to a short thin ponytail by a white ribbon.

"Hm~? What are you staring at, master?"

Embarrassed, Naruto turned red. "N-No. I was just…" then he remembered that the guy was practically an intruder. "You! Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The person garbed in black stared at his 'master' weirdly. "Oh, you didn't know what I am?"

"Uh…" Naruto paused. "I should?"

He could see the corner of the stranger's lips widening into a small smirk. "Ah, yes, perhaps… I have forgotten myself." he laughed lightly, somehow making him… girly. He brought his right hand to his chest, taking a rather dignified pose. "I am Kashuu Kiyomitsu. The child beneath the river, the child of the river banks, I suppose. I may be hard to handle but my ability is top notch. I am always looking for people who can use me well, shower me with affection, and dress me beautifully." He winked. "Alright, master?"

Naruto took a while to process the whole thing.

And when he did, he fainted.

"What a cute master, hmph."


	3. Dropped out

Let us begin with an introduction of what has transpired in the past few hours.

At approximately 12:30 in the morning, Uzumaki Naruto and his classmates conducted a practical training—sparring—in the academy as a part of their daily scores. Things were going well until, well as one would expect, Uzumaki Naruto's turn began.

At exactly 1:23, everyone in Konoha felt an explosion of malevolent chakra coming from the academy. The chakra could be felt all the way to the border of the Land of Fire.

At 1:26, the ANBU swarmed the academy. This includes several other jonins, chunins, and special ranked jonins.

At 1:30, the village was already at lockdown.

The ANBU team which was dispatch to investigate the threat was also tasked with the capture of the Jinchuriki himself, Uzumaki Naruto.

Thankfully, no one was harmed physically.

Only Mizuki.

Mizuki suffered from multiple injuries, but mostly internally. The poor and hospitalized instructor was hit directly by a Kyuubi-chakra-infused punch right in the chest. Now normally, damages done would be externally. But since this was a demon's chakra we're talking about, most of the damage was dealt internally. The man's chakra coils were invaded by the vile, poisonous and volatile chakra of a Bijuu; of course he'd be hospitalized. Thankfully again, what happened to Mizuki could be fixed by a team of professional medics. But at a cost.

Mizuki could never become a ninja again.

On the other side of the coin, people who suffered from the sheer feeling of the chakra, were not injured. Victims reported feeling paralyzed the moment they felt the vile chakra rush past them, and the academy students who were outside that time were sent to the T&I department building for therapy. Yes, therapy session in the T&I building.

Guess who had a field work a few hours later.

An uproar occurred with people, mostly civilians, demanding to know what had happened. People from the older generations, veterans especially, were able to conclude the feeling similar as the Kyuubi's chakra that was also largely felt twelve years ago. But fortunately for every ninja on duty, no one decided to take action. Eventually, everyone calmed down, due to the aftermath dissipating quickly.

Naruto knew that he was brought to the old man Hokage in chains because they were afraid that he might be possessed under the Kyuubi's influence. Again, he can't really blame them. Now that he thought about it, couldn't they have locked him in a prison instead of having brought him into the old man's office?

Needless to say, the boy did not notice a certain wood-man ANBU hiding in the room with a restraining seal ready.

In the office, which was literally hours ago, he had a conversation with the Hokage and now he knew that his dad was the Fourth Hokage.

Yippee…

"Master, I… don't like the look you're making, master…"

Oh right, how could he forget about him?

Before him, the black and maroon clad man was kneeling in seiza similar to him. He had the sword on his side, placed on the floor.

A pair of red eyes blinked as they stare seemingly right through him.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright… first… let's begin." He took a deep breath. "Who exactly are you?" he said out slowly.

Kashuu blinked. "I thought I made it clear. I am Kashuu Kiyomitsu the-"

"I know that you're a child of the riverbanks!" Naruto blurted out. "What I want to know is who are you and what is that sword to you?" he said while gesturing towards the weapon on Kashuu's side.

Kashuu laughed.

This annoyed Naruto.

"Master, master…" the black haired boy shook his head as he said the title in a sing-song manner. "You really are clueless aren't you?" he flashed Naruto a somewhat arrogant smirk while bringing the sword up so that Naruto could see it clearly. "This sword… is me. And I am it."

"Waaah?"

Kashuu didn't bother elaborating anything. "All you need to know is that you have awakened me while I was in my slumbered state." He then become a little bit thoughtful. "Now that I think about it… it has been a long time. Say master, what year is it?"

Naruto told him.

And Kashuu's surprise was as clear as day.

"T – That long… huh…" he blinked several times, registering the fact that had been told to him. "No wonder you are not aware of me…" his pose became a little bit more stiff, not relaxed like before. "I am originally a sword, but through special circumstances, I have been granted a body. Yes. A body. This body, is mine. And this," he referred to the sword. "is also my body, but in the form of a sword."

Naruto was just sitting there with his mouth wide open.

"I… can do this."

Suddenly, Kashuu was engulfed in a thick familiar white smoke. When cleared, Naruto was only greeted with the sight of a sword. Kashuu.

"What happened?" the boy wondered.

" _Ah, do not fret master, I'm merely in my sword form."_

Naruto almost jumped when he heard the sword speaking in Kashuu's voice. "What the hell?!"

" _Now don't be so surprised, I've told you already, right?"_ again, a thick white smoke engulfed and voila, Kashuu reappeared again in the previous sitting position he was in. "I can return to my sword form whenever I please and the same applies to my human body."

"So…" Naruto eyed the sword. "You're the sword too?" it became a question.

"Yes." To be honest, this was getting annoying for him too. "Think about it like this master. Here," he was referring to himself. "you have a sword capable of materializing into a human body. Or, if you prefer, you can have him stay as a sword."

"Ah…"

Kashuu smiled. Now he got it.

"But… I still don't get why you fell from a tree."

And… his smile fell.

"To be honest, I don't know myself." he pouted. "It's been a looong time! I slept for too long so can't recall any memories before now!" he made a deep thinking pose with his eyes looking upwards. "Except for some of the major things."

"Like…?" Naruto was eager to find out.

"Like, for instance, my origins." Kashu nodded, smiling once more. "I am a sword, as I have stated, and I am by no means human. In fact, the sword me is my real form." He informed. "I am given a human body to serve my master and protect him as a sword." his face fell, turning somewhat bitter. "I said as a sword because I couldn't manifest into a human form just now, after you have found me."

"So, you're able to become human because of me?" His somewhat growing brain could at least come up with that conclusion.

"Yes, you are correct master."

"But… you said that you were just a sword back then. How do you know all of this?"

Kashu frowned. "Non-living things, like swords, have spirits too master. In everything, both living and non-living, resides a soul. However, due to the type of vessel in which they are contained, not all things can move freely or breathe, eat and play. Hence, humans refer to 'things' which aren't capable of moving as non-living things because the vessel of that particular soul is in fact, something that could not move."

This just made him more confused.

"But if you're wondering as to how I'm able to have a physical body, I'm afraid to say that I do not know myself."

Naruto was taking in a lot of information here.

First, Kashuu is in fact a sword and his current human body was only a projection, a manifestation. He could not understand why a sword would come into 'life', and why Kashuu fell onto him from a tree, he did not know. Second, he's still new with his gamer ability, he really didn't need something more confusing to come up and slap him right in the face.

"Any more questions, master?"

"Uh yeah. So… do you know the whole point of you having a human body?"

Now this, this was beginning to get interesting.

"Now that I think about it… I have an idea why." Kashuu coughed before beginning his conclusion. "Ignoring how it is possible to make a sword turn to life, there must be purpose as to why I'm given a body." Kashuu, blinked. "In fact, I should ask you this question master. Why did you give me a body anyway?"

"Wait, wait." Naruto raised both of his hands. " _I'm_ the one who gave you a body?"

"Well, as you can see, I have a body so… yeah. You are the one who gave me a body."

Well fuck him sideways.

"So what exactly is master's profession?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Me? I'm a ninja in training."

Kashuu's eyes sparkle in interest. "Ninja? You mean like the Iga and Koga clan ninjas?"

"Koga clan, Iga clan?" Naruto hummed confusedly. "I don't think I recognize people from those clans. The only clan here in Konoha are the Akimichis, Naras, Yamanakas, Inuzukas, Aburames and Hyuugas." He recalled all the major clan. "And there's one guy in class who came from a clan but… he's the only one left…"

"Oh, why?" Kashuu asked innocently.

Naruto paused. "I… don't know."

Now that Kashuu mentioned it, he never really did know why the bastard was the only Uchiha left.

Regardless of his master's lack of knowledge of an answer, Kashuu hummed thoughtfully. "So master's a ninja eh? Aw~ I was hoping for master to be a samurai or something."

His dissatisfaction caused Naruto to get curious. "Why were you expecting me to be a samurai?"

"Because swords, an Uchigatana such as me, are normally used by samurais!" Kashuu exaggeratedly said before letting his face fell. "Ah, not that I'm saying ninjas aren't allowed to use swords, but those are shorter swords; not one like an uchigatana."

Naruto made a thinking look.

Yes, he is capable of doing it.

"I've seen several ANBUs using swords…" the ones from earlier today who were sent to subdue him to be exact. Remembering what happened made him shiver. "But yeah, theirs are not as long as… eh… you."

"See~?" Kashuu stretched out his voice. "Saa, now that you mentioned master, I think I know why I have a human body."

"Oh?"

"It's so that I could protect you! Literally." He then explained. "By having a human body, master—who I strongly assume isn't knowledgeable in the art of the sword—won't have to waste time learning sword techniques to defend himself." He then sassily gestured himself. "I can do that myself!"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I'm confused. Why are you so eager on…" he felt a bit weirded out here. "protecting me?"

Kashuu bluntly gave him a look that said 'are you shitting me'. "I am your literally your sword, master. You found me and you somehow managed to give me a human body. A sword is built with the sole purpose of protecting their masters, as well as to be used for any actions regardless of how twisted or pure master is."

"But what if you weren't meant to be for me?" The blonde gamer asked. "What if you were meant for someone else?"

"Master is surprisingly thinking a lot at this. It makes me happy to see that you have concern over people." The sword smiled. "I was built for my previous master. That story has ended. Now, I am yours. You found me and gave me this body. What kind of sword or person I would be if I don't show my thanks to you?"

It… made sense. Somehow.

Naruto blinked. "Ah…" then he blushed in embarrassment. "I… eh…"

Seeing his master's reaction prompt Kashuu to show a teasing grin. He nudged his master on the shoulder with his own, the somewhat cunning grin growing wider. "Eh~ I didn't know that master was capable of being this cute."

"S – Shut up!" Well, Naruto had at least a point in becoming a tsundere.

"Iyaan~ master, master." The smirk on the black haired boy showed no sign of disappearing. "Such a tsundere."

Naruto sighed, he shook his head in an attempt to get rid of his embarrassment. It worked. "So, what happens now?"

"What happens now is…" Kashuu said, leaving Naruto on the edge. "It's time for master to introduce himself to me."

Naruto considered it and it only seemed right to introduce Kashuu about himself. But it still made him feel a little bit embarrassed because honestly speaking, this was the first time he's speaking to someone who wasn't Iruka-sensei, the old man Hokage, Ayame and Teuchi-jiji or even the teme.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto!" he introduced, managing a familiar bright grin. "I'm twelve years old and a student in the Konoha ninja's academy. "I aim to be the Hokage of this village. A Hokage is like the leader of this village, if you're wondering and…" slowly but effectively, his smile disappeared. "I think that it's impossible for me." he hung his head low.

Looking at his master's depressed state, Kashuu could not help but worry. "Eh~? Why?"

Naruto told him.

He told him about what happened earlier, about the Kyuubi, about his supposed to be father and about his ability.

The first thing that Kashuu did was growling in anger. And this surprised the blonde.

"How dare they… how dare they hate master for something he did not do…" It was clear that at this point, Kashuu was seething. "Do they not know the difference between a sword and a sheath? To think that humans are so blind…"

"K – Kashuu…" he struggled to find a proper honorific. "kun. Don't hate them. They don't know."

Hearing his master's soft spoken and gentle words, caused him to relax despite having being so angry. "Master is truly kind. I doubt that my previous master would be able to show the same kind of reaction if he were to be in your situation."

Naruto had a gut feeling. Does Kashuu hate his previous master? However, he decided to keep those thoughts to himself.

"So!" Naruto chirped out, planning to lift the heavy mood. "I also enjoy doing pranks! I'm the prank king of Konoha, so I just know that I'll make an excellent ninja."

He finished introducing himself.

But it was not enough for Kashuu.

"Master, if I may ask?"

"What?"

"About master's multiple… conditions." Naruto briefly flinched. And this did not go unnoticed by the black haired sword. "Is… does master hate that topic?"

After shivering for a second, Naruto shook his head. He gave a tougher front, showing that he won't back down. "It's not that I hate it. I know nothing about them. The Kyuubi, the Fourth Hokage being my dad and this whole gamer power… they're new to me. The former two much more."

Kashuu noded solemnly. "I see… then your gamer power." He said it with a weird face, as if he'd just say something in an entirely different language. "How does it work, exactly?"

This managed to lift Naruto's mood a little. "It's hard to explain, but… I suppose the only way to explain it is for me to tell you what a game is."

Kashuu was all ears.

"My life became a videogame. You know, the ones we play in consoles?"

"I… I don't think I do."

Naruto sighed. Is this how Kashuu felt several minutes before? If so, then he's the one who should be sorry.

Naruto, eager to inform Kashuu of his unique power, began telling Kashuu about videogames. Their concept, their mechanics. When it was time to get into the critical part, mostly involving how drastically his new life has changed, Naruto paused. "So before I continue, any questions?"

"Hmm…" the sword boy was thinking hard. "I think I got the concept of it master. So, thanks to your gamer power, you are able to learn skills, techniques and other practical action easily, is that it?" he got a nod. "How… convenient for you, master."

Naruto had to agree there. "Ever since this gamer thing kicked in, and when I meant ever since I meant yesterday, I can also get to see the things around me in a way that no one could." Seeing Kashuu's look for elaboration, Naruto brought up an example. "For example, I have an ability called Observe. It, as the name suggests, allows me to observe things to the very last detail. Item quality, rarity, name, description and all that. And not only objects, the same thing applies to people too. But when observing people, it lets me see how high their levels are."

"Again, how mighty convenient it is for you, master." Kashuu coughed, clearing his throat. "While this is a lot to take, I'm more interested in the other topic master. The… Kyuubi. It is a creature of myth, no?"

"No." Naruto shook his head, his tone returning gloom once again. "It attacked the village twelve years ago and… dad… sealed it into me. When I lost myself in the academy, it was not me who injured Mizuki-sensei, it was the Kyuubi! I know that!"

 **The [Gamer's Mind] skill is keeping your thoughts calm and rational.**

"Feh, it's telling me that it's keeping me calm and rational."

"Your skill?"

"Yes."

Naruto sighed tiredly. "It may be the Kyuubi who did it, but it was me who allowed it." He admitted. "I felt so… angry and mad at the way they underestimate me. All that I could think of was to show them how wrong they are." His fists were as pale as the ceiling. "And as a result… **it** happened." He covered his face with his pale hands. "I'm not sure I'd even be allowed to attend the academy again tomorrow…"

Throughout the boy's silent sobbing, Kashuu was only staring. He knew.

His master was lonely.

People avoid him, thinking that he was monster incarnate. But in actuality, he was not at all. Uzumaki Naruto wanted to become Hokage. Kashuu may not know what a Hokage's job specifically entails to but Naruto did a good job on summing it up for him. His master wanted to become the leader of his village, a position of high power. With that power, comes great responsibility.

If that wasn't indirectly saying that his master cared for his village, then Kashuu did not know anything else.

Were people really that blind? Here, weeping before him, is a child ready to take up a job as dangerous as becoming a shinobi so that people could respect him! He's willing to look over the harsh shit people threw at him and protect them at the same time!

How can people not see that?!

After he finally calmed himself down, Naruto sighed as he wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes. "I'm… sorry for crying like that, but I really needed it." He apologized.

He's the master, yet he's apologizing to him. Wow.

Kashuu realized. Uzumaki Naruto was either a really humble and kind hearted or he's too blind to see the wisdom in himself.

Maybe both.

"So… master wishes to become strong?"

Naruto perked up. And Kashuu was there to greet him. Not with a smile, but a serious look.

The blonde boy felt the question directed at him echo in the deepest part of his brain… or what little he had of it. He wanted to become strong so that he could become Hokage, so that people would acknowledge him. But with the little stunt the Kyuubi pulled, that thought might just be launched further away.

So when Kashuu asked him if he wanted to become strong, of course, he answered:

"Yes."

I want to become strong.

Kashuu smiled. That's all he need.

* * *

The next morning, early in the morning if I might add, the Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato was accompanied by his three advisors to greet an audience of one. Koharu, Homura and Danzo were seated on their respective place, but their eyes were kept at the figure just like the eyes of their leader.

Uzumaki Naruto was kneeling in dogeza, his forehead touching the cold ceramic floor of the council room. His posture spoke his true intentions.

Hiruzen was speechless. Stunned, even. Never, ever, he would come to see a day where Uzumaki Naruto would be making such an embarrassing posture.

Except for that one time when the boy farted in the middle of court.

Anyway, Naruto was not one to show such a… formal and apologetic posture. Everyone, the ANBUs hidden in the shadows on every corner of the room, Hiruzen himself, Koharu, Homura and even Danzo himself felt uneasy. The silence that filled the room could no longer be contained. Inside, it felt as if an eternity has passed. And still, Naruto had yet to raise his head.

It was at that moment when Sarutobi Hiruzen and his advisors understood the situation.

"Hokage-sama."

Everyone was surprised to hear the honorific used by the boy. Naruto never refer to Hiruzen as 'Hokage-sama'.

Oh god, this is serious.

"I… I…" he was struggling with his words. Not because of the people currently present, but because of his own hesitation. Seriously, how did Kashuu convinced him to do this?

* * *

" _Then, if master wants to become strong but not endangering the people around him, become a ronin."_

" _A… ronin?"_

 _Kashuu nodded. "Well, maybe not, since master isn't a ninja yet. But!" he raised his voice. "I believe that, in order to make master reach his goals of becoming strong, he must leave the village to discover his own meaning of strength!"_

" _My..." He blinked. "…meaning of strength?"_

" _Yup!" Kashuu then frowned. "Now don't give me that look. Master, how long has it been since you feel like you can do a decent ninja technique?"_

 _He got him there._

 _The boy groaned. "But I can't just leave the village, even if I felt like that would be the best thing to do because of what happened earlier…" He then stretched his hands to the side. "The old man Hokage won't let me!"_

 _The sword boy hummed, a hand on his chin. "That is indeed true." Then, he the light bulb above his head went off. "But master! Didn't you tell me that your… gamer… ability give you unique skills?"_

" _Uh… yeah?" he's not seeing where this is going._

" _If… master said that the gamer ability allows master to increase several of his inept attribute… that includes luck, right?"_

 _Okay, now he's seeing it._

" _Y – You're… you're a genius!" Naruto jumped in joy, his face looked exactly like someone who'd been to church in a Sunday morning._

 _Kashuu actually blushed a little. But his smug smirk changed that easily. "Oho… master praised me~ it's good to know that I'm loved."_

 _After that, he spent all of his skill points on **LUK**._

* * *

"Raise your head Naruto and slowly tell me what's wrong." The words that came out from Hiruzen's mouth were soft spoken. "Let Jii-chan know."

"Pffft."

"…I heard that Danzo."

The crippled man looked away for some reason.

Naruto, having heard the old man Hokage speak, raised himself to his feet. He's not sure how he's going to pull this off but he believed in his luck.

Note that he still couldn't see the how high his luck is in the stats screen.

But it's all for nothing!

Naruto embraced his inner actor. "What happened today… I don't think I can ever show my face again in front of my classmates. But, I still want to train to become a ninja."

"Hiruzen, I think that-"

"Be quiet Danzo." The Hokage's voice was like the abyss itself. Cold and void of any emotion. "Continue, Naruto-kun."

"I thought about it for a long time…"

Six hours' a long time?

"And I think that it's best for me to leave Konoha."

Immediately, alarms went off in everyone's head.

"Child, do you even know what you are suggesting?!" Elder Homura screamed out in unrestrained surprise and flabbergast. Mostly surprise. "You have not finished your education yet and you're suggesting to leave the village?!"

Mentally, Naruto bit his teeth. 'Well here's goes nothing.' He coughed to pull off a very, very convincing act. "What I did harmed people." The way his eyes shine in regret, shame and resentment of himself managed to fool the four elders present. "Mizuki-sensei…" for extra effect, his voice cracked. "He… the hospital… me…"

Let the world be reminded that Uzumaki Naruto is now the master of bullshitery.

"Hiruzen, you can't possible believe tha-"

"I… see. So it has affected you, Naruto-kun." The Sarutobi said with a solemn look.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

"Naruto-kun. Let's say that I allowed you to leave, what will you do once you exit Konoha?" the Kage out rightly ignored his crippled former teammate. "Where will you go? How will you survive? What about money, food?"

Naruto knew that he was forgetting something. "Eh… I have a plan. Since I want to be able to control the fox's chakra, which is something dangerous from what I have learned yesterday, I will need to be far away from Konoha as far as possible." The boy explained. "I plan on travelling West."

"…Do you even know what is in the west?"

"…No. But I will." Not… very convincing there Naruto-san.

The uneasy expression returned to Hiruzen's face. "While the idea of you controlling the Kyuubi's power may be an excellent concept, how are you going to pull it off, Naruto? You're telling me that you plan on meeting the Kyuubi, demand it for 'rent' and expect it to shout at you for how a mere 'human' like you wouldn't be able to control its power and that you will die by becoming its lunch, is that it?"

"…"

When an elder asked you a question, you must answer them, Naruto-san.

"Hiruzen, let me train the boy. He said it himself, he-"

"Don't test me Danzo."

"Men…"Koharu could only watch as the male population talk.

"Anyway Ji-ji, can I leave the village?" he got tired of playing the actor, so he just asked straightforwardly.

"No." two 'Ji-ji' answered him.

"Well, I tried."

Yes, you tried, Naruto-san…

It's as if someone had lifted the heavy atmosphere in the room, placed it in a sack, and threw said sack away out of the window. These mood changes could be lethal…

"But in all seriousness Naruto-kun-"

"Oh so you weren't serious?"

"Shut up Danzo." A glare. "Are you really serious in harnessing the Kyuubi's power?"

"Yes." The boy said with no hesitation. In fact, he said it with full conviction. "The Kyuubi's power… it's bad, I know. Dad sealed the Kyuubi and, and I think that he did it with a purpose in mind." He began scratching the back of his head in a Naruto-ish way. "I mean, he's my dad right? The Fourth Hokage nonetheless, so, ehehe, he got to be smart… right?" his grin was awkward. But in a good way.

'Minato…' The Sarutobi's eyes softened. 'Your son…' the aged Kage closed his eyes.

Decision making is important, but so is Naruto to the village. If he was Minato, he'd never let Naruto out without guardian. Aside from the fact that it would be completely unwise, foolish, dumb and irresponsible to let a twelve year old boy who had yet to graduate from the academy to roam around into the dangerous and open world filled with shinobis...

As a grandfather figure, he couldn't let Naruto leave the village. He won't.

But… he didn't really do a good role at being a grandfather.

"Naruto, listen to me well."

The boy flinched. He straightened himself.

"I will allow you to leave the village-" he ignored Danzo's outburst. "but under one condition."

Naruto was all ears.

"If you could find someone to accompany you for the entire period of your journey outside the village, I will allow it."

'Hiruzen you…'

There's no hiding the childish smirk on the Hokage's face. Where on earth would Naruto find someone who'd want to accompany him?

"You childish fuck." Unlike the two elder male in the room, Koharu was more than happy to voice her thoughts.

"Eh, is that it Ji-ji?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun that is it."

Homura, Koharu and even Danzo leaned in in interest.

"Well that's easy!" the boy flashed the four old cooters a smug grin. "I know who to bring!"

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen noted how lonely Naruto's childhood was. Yes, he knew that. Being the jailor of the infamous Kyuubi who attacked Konoha twelve years ago was not the kind of reputation that makes people swarm the boy.

Unless they're an organization composed of dangers missing ninjas. But like that could happen.

So, back to the boy's bleak childhood experience. Hiruzen had several complaints aimed at him regarding the boy. Some people would say that he disturbed public peace, destroyed several park benches, defaced the Hokage monument and the most absurd one; ate the entire ramen supply in all of the ramen stands available in Konoha.

The last two parts were true, but there's still no denying that people did this just so that they could make the boy miserable.

So, you couldn't blame him for being so surprised when Naruto actually managed to find someone to accompany him for his absurd decision. They have exited the court room and his three advisors left him to deal with the matter, but one of them seemed to be very insistent in following. But being Hokage, Hiruzen managed to prevent his crippled teammate from following him.

"Naruto, before I completely regret it… tell me who this young gentleman is."

They're – as in Naruto, the Hokage and Kashuu – just outside of the Hokage building. Hiruzen took the initiative to meet this 'friend' of Naruto himself, with both curiosity and security as his reason. Once Hiruzen took a good look of the new face, he could not help but get suspicious.

The way Kashuu was dressed, it's not a common style that anyone would find in Konoha. And that sword… was he a samurai? It's even more uncommon to find a well-dressed samurai in a ninja village, so no one could blame him for becoming suspicious of the person next to Naruto.

Kashuu made a serene smile, one that would take ages to practice. But seeing him made that, Naruto couldn't tell whether it's a genuine one or a fake. "Greetings Hokage-sama." He did a very formal and exaggerated courtesy. "I am Kashuu Kiyomitsu and I've heard of your condition for my little master."

Naruto was more pissed at the fact that Kashuu had just indirectly revealed the whole thing out to the Hokage rather than the fact that he'd just call him little. He'll let it slide… for now.

Instantly, Hiruzen's face hardened. "So you are the one who coerced Naruto-kun into leaving." The old man's voice held an edge that was even sharper than a knife's.

"No, I did not."

"Uh… you kinda di-"

"Please be silent for a while, master." Naruto found himself shutting up. "While… I did suggest the idea, it was master himself who agreed." He sighed in a melodramatic manner, as if the conversation was just one boring set up in a play. "I know that my origin is suspicious, but trust me Hokage-sama, I will protect master with all I am. Even if both my body breaks, I will protect him."

There was so much honesty in Kashuu's voice that it shocked the young boy to his very core. Never in his life had he heard someone speak like that about him. It sent shivers down his back, the good kind.

Still, Hiruzen won't buy it. "How can I trust you young man? I have never seen you in my entire life, yet you claim Naruto to be your… master."

"Ah but he is." Kashuu said nonchalantly. "He found me, gave me this body and most importantly," at this, Kashuu did not hesitate to smile brightly. "he promised to love me."

Naruto looked away uneasily.

Hiruzen blanched. He nearly fell on his footing. "L – Love…? What did he mean, Naruto-kun?" the old man asked with his voice raised.

"I – I – I don't know!" it's safe to say that Naruto was as red as tomato at this point. "And I never promised anything, you!"

Kashuu mocked hurt. "Iyaa~n master rejected me; maybe we shouldn't go after all?"

"E – Eh…"

Hook, line, sinker.

A loud thumping sound stopped Kashuu from his mischievous antics. Hiruzen had just about enough of this foolishness. The sword boy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. The old man made that noise just from stepping forward?

'This man's strong…' looks like his title wasn't just for show. "Hokage-sama." The well-dressed boy readjusted his tone. "I care for my master, though our meeting may suggest otherwise, I can say that I truly hope for the best to happen to him." Hiruzen was livid when the boy dared to cast a glare upon him. "And right now, taking master away from Konoha is the best for him."

It was still in the morning, explaining why there aren't any people around to disrupt their conversation.

"Master has told me the incident of yesterday and the best thing for him is to leave this village temporarily. On a… journey of self-reflection."

"I still won't allow that." The Kage's tone was final and sharp. "To let Naruto-kun roam around unprotected," he noticed the twitch on the black haired boy's hand. "it's dangerous."

"Oho?" Kashuu's smile thinned out. "At least when master's out there, he could attack those who will be threat for him."

Hiruzen flinched. On the outside, he did not show it, but inside; he was panicking. He knew about the Kyuubi? Did Naruto tell him?

"So please, once again Hokage-sama, please grant master's permission to leave this village." For whatever reason, the boy's voice softened. "I have to admit, maybe I did make it sound like I coerced master into leaving the village. But after hearing the stories that master told me, I couldn't help it. This place was supposed to be his village, heck, master attended a ninja school so that he could protect his village."

"K – Kashuu…" Naruto murmured from the sidelines.

"To not allow him freedom… to not show him love and care he deserved…" his voice fell. "This place does not deserve master."

A cold, shivery breeze went pass them from the east.

"But regardless of what this place had done to master, he still wanted to become a ninja for this village." He delivered the final blow. "I will say this again; master is too kind to leave this place without telling you, where if anyone else were to be put in his situation, they'd have left without even caring for permission. Now, Hokage-sama, is this the kind of attitude that a Hokage should have?"

On any normal circumstances, Hiruzen would've killed the boy right here and then. But he was unable to. Kashuu's words, no matter how cruel they were, were also true. He knew that Naruto was not well appreciated by the villagers, some even took it the next step by openly harassing the boy with physical violence. All those time, when little Naruto would ask him why do the villagers hated him, he would always answer, 'because they do not know, Naruto'. As it turned out, it was he who was completely clueless.

He was clueless of the boy's suffering, he only knew it existed.

He was clueless of the boy's condition, he expected him to always smile and bear with all the threats he'd received.

He was clueless of the boy's pain, he thought it was temporary.

"Ji… Ji-chan…?"

Hiruzen failed to notice the tears that had pooled on his eyelids. Even when he did, he did not make any effort on hiding them. He let his tears flow from his aged eyes; the same eyes that'd watch countless battles, killed countless enemies… The Professor, Sandaime Hokage of the Konohagakure no Sato was crying.

"N – Naruto…" he bit back his words. The image he had right now, was not that of a Hokage. But it was the image of a tired, guilty old man full of regret that his long life had gathered. With one gulp of air, the tears stopped flowing. Shinobi must be able to control their emotions, after all.

The silence was taken by the three of them, neither spoke nor move.

Hiruzen's lips parted, but he found them so heavy to do so.

"Very well. You may leave the village, Naruto."

Strangely for the boy, there was no sense of satisfaction.

"Ji-chan-whoa!" the boy did not have time to react when the old man's fragile, thin and wrinkled body crashed against him. Naruto never knew that the old man could hug this hard. Due to Hiruzen being superior in height, Naruto found himself buried into the white and red Hokage robe that Hiruzen was wearing.

"I'm sorry Naruto… if only I've done something…" there was nothing but regret drenched in his words. Hiruzen knew that sorry would not cut it.

Naruto blinked a few times. "Heh… eh… ehehe… it's fine, Ji-chan. You're the Hokage so you're always busy." He felt the thin arms that were wrapping around him tighten the embrace. "B – But! I won't be gone forever! This Uzumaki Naruto will still become the Hokage of the Leaf Village, so don't count him out just yet!"

Perhaps Kashuu was right.

"Truly… we do not deserve you, Naruto…" Hiruzen's eyes shut tight, refusing to allow anymore tears to drop. After a moment of silence in their embrace, Hiruzen let go of the boy. His lips stretched into the kind smile that Naruto was familiar with. "After you finish packing and are ready to leave, I will be waiting for you at the gates."

"Um!" Naruto nodded. "Thank you Ji-chan!" he hugged the old man once more before letting go. "Kashuu-kun, c'mon! Let's go back home!"

"Hai, hai, master." Kashuu laughed at his little master's enthusiasm.

* * *

"Inventory."

 **Thin Plate Chest Piece:** A thin plate chest piece built to protect the wearer from light bladed or blunt attacks! {+80% protection against bladed/blunt weapons, -20% sneaking} REQ: 15 STR, 20 DEX. DUR: 150/150 **(Common)**

 **Instant Ramen x 30:** A cup of commercial brand instant ramen. Pork flavored! {Heals 60 HP when consumed} **(Common)**

 **Kunai and Shuriken sets:** A set of both standard quality kunai and shuriken! {-} **(Common)**

 **T-shirt:** A simple white shirt! {-} **(Common)**

 **Pants:** A pair of orange pants! {-} **(Common)**

 **Storage Scrolls x 5:** A scroll that allows user to store their personal belongings! {-} **(Common)**

Naruto nodded once he had finished checking his inventory. As excited as he may be to leave the village, he admitted that leaving Konoha was harder than he thought. On the way home, he said his goodbyes to Iruka-sensei, the Ichiraku family and paid the blacksmith over at the Shinobi Emporium the rest of the money he owed. Speaking of money, he praised his inner entrepreneur for having saved up a good amount of cash over the past few months. Now, he had money to take with him when he's out there. As for his clothing, he was wearing the blade-proof shirt underneath his orange jacket, the new pair of sandals, grey metal mesh cargos and metal gauntlets. His requirements still didn't allow him to wear the armor, sucks.

He knew what to bring, however, he still didn't know where to go. Kashuu insisted that they'll be fine, as long as they're careful. Naruto was uneasy at first, but the sword boy managed to convince him… somehow.

Yes, Uzumaki Naruto was a very easy person.

"Hey!"

…moving on, he was now ready to leave. But, as he said before, it's harder than he thought.

"Master." Kashuu came, knocking first into his bedroom before opening the door slightly. "Are you ready to leave?"

Naruto guessed that Kashuu didn't need to change, since well, the current clothing he's wearing was probably the only clothing he had with him. That reminded Naruto.

"Ah, yeah, I'm ready." The blonde coughed. "Ehm… Kashuu, did you pack too?"

Kashuu gave him the eye. "No? Should I?"

The blonde sighed. "No… no need, I'm the one who needs to carry things anyway." He straightened himself, noticing that Kashuu was about to speak, Naruto answered knowingly. "If you're wondering where I'm carrying my stuff, my gamer abilities allow me to store things in an invisible inventory."

Kashuu made a silent "Oh" with his mouth. He then entered the room fully, suddenly grabbing the boy's hand, shocking him. "Hey, wah!" Naruto yelped when Kashuu proceeded to drag him out from his room into the living room and outside of the apartment room.

"Let's not waste any time, master!" Kashuu gleamed. "I don't know about you, but I'm curious as to what's waiting for us outside of the village!"

"You don't even know the village that much…" Naruto murmured in a flat voice.

"But I do." The emptiness returned to his voice. "To know that the people that lives here treated master in such ways… I know what type of people that lives here, alright."

Naruto felt like sighing, but managed to restrain himself from doing so. "Kashuu, not all of the people here are bad people. I know that the old man's busy, since he's Hokage and all, Iruka-sensei can be scary sometimes but I know that he cares and Teuchi-jiji and Ayame-neechan are good people!"

After seeing his master's persistent expression on trying to convince him so, Kashuu let his hostility drop. "Fine, but I still think that master deserves a better place than this." He spoke out, feeling that he had lost.

Until something wrapped around him.

"…Master…?" Kashuu was surprised.

Naruto's grinning face would forever be etched into the deepest part of Kashuu's brain. There's no way in both heaven and hell that he would ever forget his master's face.

"Thank you Kashuu, for caring." Then, Naruto released him. "S – So! Let's go, shall we!"

Kashuu made a smile, and that smile was brighter than his previous ones.

"Let's go, my master!"

On the meeting place that will also be their departure, Naruto and Kashuu were greeted by people. People as in more than just one person, meaning that the old man Hokage was not alone.

"Ji-cha—Iruka-sensei!?" Naruto did not have time to register the fact that he was being hugged by his brother figure. "W – What are you doing here?" the boy muttered, confused.

"Of course I'm here to see you off you little brat…!" the teacher was struggling to keep himself from crying in the presence of people around him. "Why oh why did you came up with such a stupid idea…?"

"Uh… actually,"

"Don't… tell me…" still in the tight embrace, Naruto can feel the man's voice shaking. "I… know that this will be the best, both for you and the rest in the academy."

At that, Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "Hehehe… they sure were freaked out, weren't they?"

Iruka would be lying if he said not. After what happened in the academy yesterday, he was forced to send all students back home. Thankfully, none of them were aware of Naruto's condition, so the Yamanakas didn't have to do much.

"I'm not going to tell you not to go. But, return home safely, okay?" Iruka slowly released the embrace, showing Naruto his tear stained smile.

"Okay Iruka-sensei! I'm going to be Hokage after all, so you can see this as my… eh… what was it called again?"

"Self-reflection journey." Thank you, Kashuu.

"Yeah, that!"

Iruka wiped his eyes clear of tears. Then he stood and walked over to the sword boy. There's no hiding the hostility on his face. "You protect him, you hear me?" No one, not even Hiruzen himself, had ever hear such threatening words coming out from the chunin instructor. Needless to say, Hiruzen was surprised.

"With my life." Kashuu answered without missing a beat.

Iruka relaxed. He then turn back towards Naruto again, pulling out something from his utility pouch. "Naruto, I want you to have this." He showed the boy three scrolls, colored in blue, green and red respectively.

 **Take Scrolls of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and Genjutsu?**

 **YES/NO**

"What are these, sensei?" he could've used Observe… but he didn't want Iruka or Hiruzen to notice him.

"These scrolls contain the basic fundamental that a ninja should have." His face fell to a flat stare. "You should know this if you were actually paying attention in class."

"Ehehe…"

Damn blonde.

"Anyway, these will save your life out there. Learn them and practice them." He gave the scrolls to Naruto, who accepted it without punching the 'YES' button.

"Thank you sensei, I will become strong with these!" Naruto returned Iruka's smile with a grin of his own.

"Ahem." An elderly voice coughed out, catching the boy's attention. "I hope you haven't forgotten about me, Naruto-kun."

"Of course not Ji-chan." Naruto smiled warmly.

"Naruto…" the aged Kage began, as if he was going to let go of his favorite son. "I showed you your father's letter. But, what I have not showed you was something from your mother's side." With a sleight of hands, a larger scroll appeared. "This scroll contains valuable techniques that your mother used. It may or may not tell you anything about your mother, but all that you need to know is that she loves you as much as your father loves you… no, maybe even more." They say that mothers love their children more than they love themselves. "Have this, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's hand shivered as he reached for the large scroll.

 **Uzumaki Clan Ninjutsu Scroll GET!**

 **Throughout the game, you may obtain special items that are so valuable that you could not bring yourself to sell them. These items are very rare and will only be triggered by special events.**

He took it.

"Thank you, Ji-chan."

Kashuu watched as the scene before him unfolds. Naruto, his master, was still a child after all. With all the situation and struggles he'd been through, situations where most grown men would find themselves crying, he managed to keep moving on with that huge smile on his face. Kashuu had no reasons to not respect his master. Uzumaki Naruto is a special existence, for him. He gave him a body, a mind and most importantly; love.

His master promised to love him, after all.

And one thing he could tell about his master despite for only meeting him just yesterday,

Is that Uzumaki Naruto never breaks promises.

* * *

 **One thing before you guys start asking, no, I am not making this into a Yaoi-fic.**

 **End of story.**


End file.
